The themed tours at the Kirpilä Art Collection offer new perspectives on art and the stories behind the collection. In an atmospheric setting, art, space, and history are explored through various themes – from art collecting and sculpture to fashion, nature, bold women artists, and queer perspectives.
The atmospheric setting of the Kirpilä Art Collection offers a unique backdrop for interpreting and experiencing art. Themed tours explore different aspects of the collection and the dialogue between the home and the artworks – from the details of the interior design to the stories behind the acquisitions.
The tours highlight, among other topics, Juhani Kirpilä’s life as an art collector, the sculptures and their creators, the connections between art and fashion, as well as portrayals of nature and biodiversity loss in art. They also focus on bold and independent women artists and offer an opportunity to view the collection through a queer lens – challenging heteronormative interpretations. Each themed tour opens up familiar works from a new angle, with its own tone and focus.
Juhani Kirpilä (1931–1988) was not only a prominent physician but also a passionate art collector. His impressive collection can be admired at the Kirpilä Art Collection in Töölö, maintained by the Finnish Cultural Foundation. During his tour, guide Antti Solin provides fascinating insights into Kirpilä’s life and the stories behind the artworks he acquired.
Languages: Finnish, English Guide: Antti Solin
The tour examines the art collection through queer interpretations, challenging normative perspectives.
Juhani Kirpilä was enthralled by colourful expressiveness and his collection includes sixteen works by Yrjö Saarinen, which are all bold and powerful with heightened intensity. They encompass all three of the motifs for which Saarinen is known: exuberant female nudes, childhood scenery from Tourujoki and floral still lifes.
Languages: Finnish, Swedish, English Guide: Eija Olsson
Juhani Kirpilä collected many works by women artists from the very start. In all, he amassed works by 32 women. This tour looks at the lives of four highly diverse women artists and their paintings in the Kirpilä Collection. Eva Cederström’s paintings are characterised by a simplistic style and limpid blue tones. Ester Helenius had an intuitive form of expression, with a rich use of colour. Her paintings are full of light, colour and intensity. Venny Soldan-Brofeldt’s imagery tended to originate close to home; she particularly favoured children and sea views. She was also active in the women’s movement. Dora Wahlroos studied in Paris and was committed to the naturalist tradition; initially more popular than Helene Schjerfbeck, she is known today especially for her portraits.
This tour looks at the lives of four highly diverse women artists and their works in the Kirpilä Collection. Fanny Churberg studied in Düsseldorf and painted landscapes more skilfully and expressively than most men. Meri Genetz could be described as a colourist and one of the finest painters in the latter November Group. Essi Renvall is known as a skilled child portraitist and the sculptor of authors’ busts for the publishing house WSOY. Her best-known monumental work is Helsinki’s Statue of Peace from 1968. Elga Sesemann discovered her own style already while studying in the 1940s, and is known for her numerous self-portraits with thick applications of colour using a palette knife.
The Kirpilä living room presents two Finnish painters from the early 1900s, Santeri Salokivi and Einar Ilmoni. While they were very different artists and personas, they have both earned their places in the Kirpilä Collection. Salokivi’s paintings are full of sunlight and positive energy. He is known for his impressionist sea views and rich colours. As something of a hermit and a highly original artist, Einar Ilmoni was the opposite of Salokivi. Ilmoni suffered from depression and nervous breakdowns, but his works, with their sparing use of colour, exude deep religiosity and peace.
The tour presents all of the sculptures in Juhani Kirpilä’s art collection, as well as their makers. Moving portraits (of Essi Renvall, Jean Sibelius, Ilmari Kianto and Tarmo Manni, among others), witty and splendid animal sculptures ranging from the Bat to the Gorilla, and modernist abstract sculptures form an ensemble that tickles the senses in Kirpilä’s homelike interior.
A large part of the artworks at the Kirpilä Art Collection consists of landscape and still life paintings – dead nature. What does the art collection tell us about the Finnish relationship with nature? Are we focusing on what is essential for the environment when we look at landscapes? Which species depicted in the artworks are on the brink of extinction?
MA Eija Olsson’s guided tour leads through the impressive rooftop apartment of the Kirpilä Art Collection, focusing on the unique interior design, antique furniture, and beautiful oriental carpets that define Kirpilä as a distinct art home. This experience offers a special opportunity to appreciate not only the artworks but also the context in which they are displayed, providing a deeper understanding of the interplay between art, design, and history.
Languages: Finnish, English, Swedish Guide: Eija Olsson