ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

 

THIS IS HOW FINLAND BECAME GLAMOROUS

Are posters art? Do they belong in the past in our digital society? What do posters tell us, and what happens when you combine posters, art and tourism?

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The Come to Finland – Paradise Calling – exhibition answers all these questions with posters that tell the story of Finland as a travel destination, from an almost unknown Russian grand duchy to the Land of romance.

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The exhibition takes the visitor all the way to the present when posters continue as interpreters for a hundred-year- old sovereign state. The newest posters are created by several Finnish artists, such as Katja Tukiainen, Petteri Tikkanen and Kaisa Leka, specifically for the exhibition.

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EXHIBITION OF POSTERS, ARTISTS & TRAVEL

The exhibition covers the rise and development of tourism, advertising and graphic design from 1851 all the way to the 1960’s, when hand drawn posters give way to photographs and continues to modern time when all techniques are allowed.

 

Axel Gallén laid the foundation for utilitarian graphic design in Finland and brilliantly combined design language with simplified messages in posters, while Oscar Furuhjelm was one of the pioneers of advertising and utilitarian graphic design.

 

Besides these pioneers the exhibition presents several renowned poster artists, such as Erik Bruun, Jorma Suhonen, Martti Mykkänen, Göran Hongell, Gunnar Forsström, Ingrid Bade and Osmo K. Oksanen, together with their stories.

 

In a playful way the exhibition demonstrates how Finland is searching its place in Europe starting from fumbling text posters in the 1850’s all the way to the self-confident works of art in the 1930’s and 50’s, where nature, glamour and cosmopolitanism are highlighted. The exhibition then takes the visitor all the way to the year of 2017, where contemporary artists are building a bridge between the past and the present.

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Source and more info here: cometofinland.fi