Amos Rex’s new exhibitions offer experiences for our emotions and all of our senses – the first-ever collections exhibition and Josefina Nelimarkka’s studio exhibition open on March 27, 2024

From ecstasy to empathy 

I feel, for now shows art from the Konstsamfundet collections, which are managed by Amos Rex. Art and emotions are at the heart of this themed exhibition. From subterranean, repressed mental landscapes, we pass through spirituality awoken by art and into nostalgia, verbal expression of emotions, and atmospheres created through materials and our various senses. The collections exhibition takes its playful title from Kari Cavén’s artwork I feel, for now (1990).  

The basis of the collection is the approximately 400 works acquired by arts patron Amos Anderson (1878–1961). Today, it comprises more than 6,000 artworks. The collection has been expanded by two long-term Museum Directors: Bengt von Bonsdorff from 1963 to 2001 and Kai Kartio from 2001 to 2024.  

“The collection is the soul of the museum. It feels good to get it on display. It also helps us think about how it could be shown more in the future”, says Kartio. 

Kieran Long took over as Museum Director in February 2024. 

I feel, for now comprises more than 100 works by 76 artists, from the 1960s to the present. The most recent pieces include Hans Op de Beeck’s video work Raúl (2022) and the newly commissioned work Spirit Systems of Soft Knowing ༊*·˚ (2024) by the artist collective Keiken. The participatory work in the middle of the museum’s large domed space is site-specific by nature and marks the first in a triennial series of commissions that make innovative use of technology, while critically examining it. 

The artists in the exhibition are: 

Martti Aiha, Petri Ala-Maunus, Henni Alftan, Ville Andersson, Pia Backström, Juhana Blomstedt, Elina Brotherus, Kari Cavén, Maria Duncker, Saara Ekström, Carolus Enckell, Leonora Fredriksson, Susanne Gottberg, Kaisaleena Halinen, Tiina Heiska, Heli Hiltunen, Ylva Holländer, Kari Huhtamo, Petri Hytönen, Kauko Hämäläinen, Icelandic Love Corporation, Petra Innanen, Aarne Jämsä, Keiken, Kaisu Koivisto, Matti Kujasalo, Jarmo Kukkonen, Tiina Laitanen, Ahti Lavonen, Henrika Lax, Juhani Linnovaara, Liisa Lounila, Jan Olof Mallander, Åke Mattas, Elina Merenmies, Ernst Mether-Borgström, Marika Mäkelä, Viljo Nieminen, Lars-Gunnar Nordström, Thomas Nyqvist, Perttu Näsänen, Hans Op de Beeck, Sara Orava, Paul Osipow, Kalervo Palsa, Roland Persson, Caroline Pipping, Pauno Pohjolainen, Vesa-Pekka Rannikko, Raimo Reinikainen, Anna Retulainen, Hans Rosenström, Eino Ruutsalo, Janne Räisänen, Emma Rönnholm, Stiina Saaristo, Maiju Salmenkivi, Pia Salo, Timo Sarpaneva, Kim Simonsson, Carl-Erik Ström, Mari Sunna, Risto Suomi, Aimo Taleva, Oona Tikkaoja, Tommi Toija, Anu Tuominen, Minna Tuominen, Pauliina Turakka Purhonen, Marianna Uutinen, Kari Vehosalo, Camilla Vuorenmaa, Viggo Wallensköld, Jan Kenneth Weckman, Sofia Wilkman and Henry Wuorila-Stenberg.

The exhibition is curated by Kai Kartio, Krista Mamia, Kaj Martin and Katariina Timonen.  

A cloud full of possibilities 

The importance of different senses is also a focus of Josefina Nelimarkka’s exhibition The Cloud of Un/knowing in Studio Rex. Nelimarkka’s exhibition features works that change in an instant and technology driven by real-time climate data. It links into broader themes of the Earth’s water cycle and the various meanings of clouds. 

“My art cultivates sensitivity and continuity; therefore, the cloud has long been an important starting point for my thinking. The cloud is a visible manifestation of invisible moments and a part of our life on Earth,” Nelimarkka says. 

Real-time measurements from the Arctic regions, boreal forest, and a weather station on the roof of Amos Rex create a beautiful, subtle unity in which light, sound and digital water droplets are in constant motion. The exhibition challenges us to accept the uncertainty and to take in information with all of our senses, giving us an opportunity to get closer to phenomena that we do not yet fully understand. 

The exhibition is curated by Anastasia Isakova.  

The exhibitions are open 27 March – 8 Sept 2024. 

Spring events 

In May, Amos Rex, in collaboration with the publishers SKS Kirjat, will release a comic book for young people, Breathe – You know, illustrated by Ulla Donner and written by the museum’s art educators Melanie Orenius and Laura Porola.  

Amos Rex is also offering a live action role play (LARP) event specific to the collection exhibition, guided tours for preschool groups in cooperation with the City of Vantaa’s Education and Learning Department, guided introductions open to all, and stroller dates for visitors with babies. 

Press photos:  
media.amosrex.fi