Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) was one of Finland’s most famous architects. His dedication to meticulous design that adopted the perspectives of users, and to architecture rooted in regional cultures and societies, grew out of the deeply held beliefs of another Aalto, his wife Aino (1894-1949). This exhibition traces the 25-year story of their synergistic relationship and sharing of ideals, from when Aino met the still-unknown Alvar until her death long before his, and features documents and distinctive materials from the family archive.

Aino and Alvar Aalto: Shared Visions

Saturday, July 10 – Sunday, August 29, 2021
Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art

Closed: Mondays (except August 9 (public holiday), closed the next day, August 10).
Hours: 10:00AM – 6:00PM, Fridays and Saturdays until 8:00PM
(last entry: 30 minutes before closing time)
For more information, visit the museum’s website

Photo: Alvar Aalto: Armchair 41 “Paimio”, 1932. Alvar Aalto Foundation. Photo: Maija Holma

Eliel Saarinen and His Beautiful Architecture in Finland

Finland is renowned for its beautiful forests and lakes. It is also home to Finnish modernism, an architectural style that is also popular in Japan. One major figure who helped develop the style was Eliel Saarinen (1873–1950). Saarinen founded an architectural firm with university friends Herman Gesellius and Armas Lindgren. One of his first jobs at the firm, designing the Finnish pavilion at the 1900 Paris World Fair, won him considerable praise. Initially, Saarinen worked in a style that was dubbed National Romantic, which while influenced by art nouveau was more focused on expressing the country’s traditional cultures. The nationalist ethos behind this style struck a chord with the people of Finland at a time when they were seeking independence from Russia.

Saarinen and his partners eventually built Hvitträsk, a complex designed to be a cross-genre work of art presenting an ideal lifestyle: living quietly in nature inside a home that also served as a venue for social functions with other artists. Saarinen gradually expanded his work into residences, commercial buildings, public buildings, train stations, and urban design. Through this varied portfolio, Saarinen played an important role in modernizing architecture throughout the first half of the 20th century. What began as a multicultural style with a strong focus on traditional Finnish culture gradually morphed into something more distinctive and modernist, presenting a new kind of Finnish identity.

This exhibition focuses on Saarinen’s work in Finland from the time before his emigration to the United States in 1923. Architectural drawings, photographs, and designs of furniture and lifestyle items shed light on Saarinen’s style, at once revolutionary and grounded in nature and the local environment. He was also skilled at using light and shadow to imbue his work with richness. At a time when many people find themselves pausing to rethink their ways of life, visitors may find Saarinen’s works speaking to them at a visceral level.

Event

Finnish pavilion at the World EXPO 1900 – multilayered art, social networks, and hidden messages
The Finnish pavilion at the World Exhibition in Paris 1900 was a huge effort and succeeded partly because of social networks. It was a complete work of art that manifested the true Finnishness in architecture, handicraft and design, visual arts, and music. The artists worked tirelessly, and the result was – magnificent! How did they succeed? What was the idea behind the architecture and the art presented in the pavilion? How did the networks of artists contribute to the creation of the overall work of art?

Speaker Dr. Anna-Maria Wiljanen (Art historian and director of the Finnish Institute in Tokyo)
The lecture will be filmed and uploaded on YouTube, available free of charge from 10 a.m. on July 4th until 6 p.m. on July 6th 2021. Detailed information closer to the date.

General Information

Dates July 3 – September 20, 2021

Panasonic Shiodome Museum of Art
4th Floor, Panasonic Tokyo Shiodome Bldg, 1-5-1 Higashi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8301

Hours 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (Admittance until 5:30 p.m.)
* Open until 8 p.m. (admittance until 7:30 p.m.) on August 7 and September 3.
Closed Wednesdays and during August 10 – 13
Admission Adults: ¥800
Visitors aged 65 or over carrying proof of age: ¥700
Students (College): ¥600
Students (High / Middle school): ¥400
Admission is free for children in primary school and younger.
Admission is free for disability passbook holders and up to one accompanying adult.

More details at the Panasonic Shiodome Museum of Art website

Photo: Finnish Heritage Agency, Historian kuvakokoelma

Thank you for all the participants! The webinar was held on Thursday 17. June 2021.

Demola WEBINAR organised by FIJ: International foresight projects as a tool to bring students and organizations together to build better future.
Do you want to be part of a team working for a better future globally? Welcome to webinar focusing on Demola’s platform – connecting students and enterprises through innovative collaborations.
One for Humanity program is a high-level initiative established by Demola Global in collaboration with Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland. The program is run throughout the year 2021 and explores six selected globally relevant societal themes. We invite universities and z-generation students all over the globe to create impact for better future. Interested? In this webinar you will hear all about the awarded platform and how to join!

Date: Thursday 17th June 2021 17:00-18:30
Programme:
17:00     Opening words – Dr Anna-Maria Wiljanen, Director of the FInnish Institute in Japan
17:10     Demola in a nutshell – Ville Kairamo, CEO, Demola Global
Demola experiences and Hokkaido University – Itsuro Sugimura, Head of Demola program at the Hokkaido University
One for Humanity program and students’ participation in Demola projects – Jere Wessman, Creative Director, Demola Global
18:00     Q & A
18:30     Closing remarks

Due to the state of emergency, all our exhibitions are temporarily closed. The exhibitions will resume after the state of emergency has ended.

Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) was one of Finland’s most famous architects. His dedication to meticulous design that adopted the perspectives of users, and to architecture rooted in regional cultures and societies, grew out of the deeply held beliefs of another Aalto, his wife Aino (1894-1949). This exhibition traces the 25-year story of their synergistic relationship and sharing of ideals, from when Aino met the still-unknown Alvar until her death long before his, and features documents and distinctive materials from the family archive.

Aino and Alvar Aalto: Shared Visions

Saturday, March 20 – Sunday, June 20, 2021
Setagaya Art Museum

Closed: Mondays except May 3, and Thursday, May 6.
Hours: 10:00AM – 6:00PM (last entry: 30 minutes before closing time)
For more information, visit the museum’s website

Photo: Alvar Aalto: Armchair 41 “Paimio”, 1932. Alvar Aalto Foundation. Photo: Maija Holma

Due to the state of emergency, all our exhibitions are temporarily closed. The exhibitions will resume after the state of emergency has ended.

inner landscapes is an art project by Marja Pirilä, a Finnish artist and photographer, and Satoko Sai + Tomoko Kurahara, a Japanese ceramic artist duo.

The exhibition, inner landscapes, tokyo opens in Tokyo Shibuya Koen-dori Gallery on Thursday, April 1^st, and continues until Sunday, June 6^th. For opening times and access, please visit the gallery’s website.

ARTISTS’ TALK

inner landscapes is dialogue between diverse times and two cultures, Finnish and Japanese: for the project the artists have interviewed elderly people from both countries. The exhibition, inner landscapes, tokyo, shows the inner landscapes of 6 groups, 8 persons living in Tokyo.

Satoko Sai + Tomoko Kurahara：Hirotaka, 2020. Photo: Mareo Suemasa

This exhibition, bringing together ceramics and photography, digs through layers of history by unearthing individual stories and album photos. The works go beyond a mere record of memories that reflect the lives of actual individuals, to highlight universal stories that we can all empathize with and share, transcending countries, cultures, and generations.

inner landscapes started as part of Turku 2011, the European Capital of Culture program through 2009-11. The first exhibition in Tokyo was held in 2016, with another artist talk event in 2018.

Photo: Marja Pirilä: Camera obscura / Hirotaka, Tokyo, 2018/2020