Kiasma was opened in May 1998. The building, located right in the centre of Helsinki (Finland) was designed by the American architect Steven Holl. The design is pure with curves and white walls with plenty of natural light coming from the roof.
The main entrance with the reflection in the window of the nearby statue of Marshal Mannerheim.
The curved roof of the building is made of solid zinc that has been patinated to emulate the effect of about 5 years' weathering.
One thing that modern museums got right is to create an uncluttered space for visitors to enjoy the art and to give ample space for the works to breathe.
For copyright reason, I could not take any photographs of the art inside the museum. Most of the works on exhibit are by Finish artists.
In the exhibition “Traces”, Darth Vader with a bendy neon lightsaber by Anssi Kasitonni made me smile. You can see it on Anssi Kasitonni’s website. I like modern art when it is humorous, crafty, clever, or makes use of new materials in interesting ways.
Another sculpture I liked was Drop by Heikki Ryynänen. It shows a drop falling in four different stages (as if the scene was a sequence of high speed photographs). Forms made of painted birch wood are beautiful and this is a clever way of implying movement with stillness.
Practical information
Kiasma is open
Tue: 10-17
Wed-Fri: 10-20.30
Sat-Sun: 10-18
Closed on Mondays
Tickets 7e/5e
Under 18 year-olds free.
Free admission on the first Wednesday of the month at 5-8 pm.
Kiama museum website
Modern art Art museum Kiasma Helsinki Anssi Kasitonni Heikki Ryynänen
1 comment:
'His breakthrough project, Helsinki's Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, is a sublime series of galleries inspired by the chiasma - an anatomical crossing, like where the optic nerves converge at the base of the brain'.
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