New Additions to Collection Kakkonen: Finnish Ryijy Textiles to Complement Glass and Ceramics at the End of 2024
2.9.2024 09:30:00 EEST | EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art | Press release
Collection Kakkonen, the largest exhibition project in the history of EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art, will celebrate its second anniversary in November. The collection, which features Finnish ceramics and glass art, will be enriched with a new, softer dimension: a selection of Finnish ryijy textiles from the collection of businessman Kyösti Kakkonen. Alongside the refreshed exhibition, a new section will open that showcases the work of influential teachers who have left a lasting impact on Finnish design.
EMMA will mark the two years of the hugely popular Collection Kakkonen exhibition with new additions. The updates will be installed gradually over the autumn season, beginning in September 2024, with the new exhibition ready for public viewing in the last week of November. For safety reasons, certain areas will be cordoned off during the changeover, but most of the exhibition space will remain open to visitors as usual.
The new Ryijy Gallery section at Collection Kakkonen strengthens EMMA’s commitment to design, featuring textiles of artistic, cultural, and historical importance. Displayed alongside ceramic and glass objects, the ryijys highlight the interwoven history of these three genres. In his collecting, Kyösti Kakkonen has focused on the works of renowned Finnish ryijy designers. The new display will include around 15 pieces from the 1940s to the 1970s by various artists, including Uhra-Beata Simberg-Ehrström.
The Teachers of Design section presents six artists who have made a significant impact, both as educators and creators, on the development of original and exceptional design expertise in Finland. The new section includes works by Arttu Brummer, Elsa Elenius, Alfred William Finch, Kaj Franck, Kyllikki Salmenhaara and Timo Sarpaneva, further deepening the selection of glass and ceramics of Collection Kakkonen.
In addition to these new sections, the exhibition will be updated by switching out some of the pieces and adding recent acquisitions, such as Loose Order of Events (2023), a work combining glass and video by artist Santtu Mustonen.
EMMA is an art museum that specialises in exploring the dialogue between visual arts, design, and architecture. Collection Kakkonen and its dedicated exhibition space at EMMA is built upon a long-term loan of artworks from the collection of over 10,000 pieces by Finnish businessman and collector Kyösti Kakkonen. The collection display, curated by EMMA curator Aura Vilkuna, presents a comprehensive selection of works from the growing collection of over 1,400 pieces on loan at EMMA. To be launched at the end of the year, this is the first update of the exhibition since its inauguration in November 2022.
Keywords
Contacts
Iris SuomiChief Marketing Communications SpecialistEMMA – Espoon modernin taiteen museo
Tel:+358447601930iris.suomi@emmamuseum.fiImages
Links
Subscribe to releases from EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art
Subscribe to all the latest releases from EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art
Emmas framtid: ett brev från Krist Gruijthuijsen19.5.2026 08:30:00 EEST | Pressmeddelande
Bästa läsare, Det här är Emma. I dag, den 19 maj, är det hennes namnsdag. Hon fyller snart 20 år och befinner sig i en övergångsperiod, på väg från ungdom mot vuxenliv. I takt med att födelsedagen närmar sig stannar Emma upp för att reflektera. Att bli vuxen är oundvikligt, men i vår tid sker det inte utan utmaningar. De föreställningssystem hon en gång vuxit upp med håller på att vittra sönder. Förändringen utmanar henne att på nytt granska sitt sätt att förstå världen omkring sig. I två decennier har Emma bott i ett före detta tryckeri, ett imponerande brutalistiskt landmärke från 1960-talet i Esbo, ritat av arkitekten Aarno Ruusuvuori. I denna särpräglade miljö har rummet och konsten gått hand i hand, format varandra och skapat en egen värld där Emma har vuxit upp. Emma har vuxit upp genom relationer: med sina gemenskaper, med de konstnärer hon samarbetar med och med de samlingar hon förvaltar. Samarbetet har varit en central del av hennes utveckling och format hennes syn på den egn
Emma’s Future: A Letter from Krist Gruijthuijsen19.5.2026 08:30:00 EEST | Press release
Dear Reader, This is Emma. Today, 19 May, is her name day. She is about to turn 20 years old and finds herself at a moment of transition, gradually moving from adolescence into adulthood. As she approaches her birthday, she pauses to reflect. Growing up is inevitable, yet in this moment in time it is not without its challenges. The belief systems she was once so firmly raised with are dissolving, asking her to reconsider how she understands the world around her. For two decades, Emma has made her home in a former printing factory—a striking Brutalist landmark from the 1960s, designed by Finnish architect Aarno Ruusuvuori in Espoo, Finland. Within this distinctive architectural setting, space and art have continuously shaped one another, forming the environment in which she has grown up. Emma has come of age through relationships: with her communities, with the artists she works alongside, and with the collections she cares for. Collaboration has been central to her development, shaping
Emman tulevaisuus: kirje Krist Gruijthuijsenilta19.5.2026 08:30:00 EEST | Tiedote
Hyvä lukija, Tässä on Emma. Hän viettää nimipäiväänsä tänään 19. toukokuuta. Emma täyttää pian 20 vuotta ja elää murrosvaihetta nuoruuden ja aikuisuuden välillä. Syntymäpäivän lähestyessä hän pysähtyy miettimään tulevaisuutensa suuntaa. Aikuistuminen on väistämätöntä, mutta juuri tässä ajassa se ei tapahdu ilman haasteita. Monet niistä uskomuksista, joiden varaan hän aikoinaan kasvoi, ovat murenemassa, ja muutos haastaa häntä tarkastelemaan uudelleen tapaansa ymmärtää ympäröivää maailmaa. Kahden vuosikymmenen ajan Emma on asunut entisessä painotalossa, arkkitehti Aarno Ruusuvuoren 1960-luvulla suunnittelemassa vaikuttavassa brutalistisessa merkkirakennuksessa Espoossa. Tila ja taide ovat muovanneet toisiaan tässä omaleimaisessa ympäristössä, luoden ainutlaatuiset puitteet Emman varttumiselle. Emma on kasvanut suhteiden kautta: yhteisöjen, taiteilijoiden ja yhteistyökumppanien rinnalla sekä kokoelmiensa parissa. Yhteistyö on ollut keskeinen osa hänen kehitystään ja ohjannut sitä, miten
EMMA öppnar Björn Weckströms konstnärshem för allmänheten sommaren 202612.5.2026 13:45:00 EEST | Pressmeddelande
I sommar har EMMA – Esbo moderna konstmuseum glädjen att för första gången öppna dörrarna till Björn Weckströms ateljéhem. Under sex fredagar och lördagar 31.7–5.9.2026 erbjuder museet en sällsynt möjlighet att stifta bekantskap med en av Finlands mest kända formgivares och skulptörers livsverk i hans hem, Villa Weckström. Biljettförsäljningen för besöken startar tisdagen den 26.5.2026.
EMMA Opens the Home and Studio of Björn Weckström to the Public in Summer 202612.5.2026 13:45:00 EEST | Press release
This summer, EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art has the pleasure of opening the doors to the home and studio Björn Weckström for the first time. On six Fridays and Saturdays between 31 July and 5 September, the museum offers a rare opportunity to encounter the life’s work of one of Finland’s most celebrated designers and sculptors in his home, Villa Weckström. Ticket sale for the visits will start on Tuesday 26 May.
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom