ARS22 at Kiasma celebrates living encounters between art and people

Written by reetta HaarajOki

An installation that comes to life, a dive into the warmth of a womb, a ride in a tourist bus - these and more than 50 other works of art are on display at the ARS22 exhibition at Kiasma. Filling the entire museum, the show features works of topical contemporary art, from paintings to installations, from performances to contemporary dance.

First presented in 1961, the ARS exhibition series is a powerhouse institution in the field of contemporary art. Each show in the series has been a reflection of its time, and so it is with the 2022 exhibition as well: a look at the world we live in and the stories told about it.

The exhibition creates a polyphonic space for imagining alternative futures together.

Encounter and experience are the core concepts of

ARS22. The show gives us tools to better understand other people and species. This is exemplified by the lessons in empathy found in the work by Eva Koťátková (b. 1982,

Czechoslovakia), which invites visitors to consider the world from the perspective of non-human species, by putting themselves in the position of the other.

Inspired by sauna and Sibelius

The show includes 15 new works of art created specifically for ARS22. Working in Hanasaari, Espoo, just outside Helsinki, French artist Laure Prouvost (b. 1978) has created a piece that explores womanhood, motherhood and sauna culture all at the same time. Entering the exhibition space from behind thick curtains is like diving into the safe and protective warmth of the womb – the room is even heated to match the temperature of the human body.

Samson Kambalu (b. 1975, Malawi) created his performance video Hiltunen Republic on walks he took in Helsinki. He was especially inspired by sculptor Eila Hiltunen’s (1922, Sortavala–2003, Helsinki) acid-proof steel monument to composer Jean Sibelius in Töölö. Kambalu’s work is accompanied by an early mock-up of the monument. Kambalu found similarities between Hiltunen’s welded sculpture and his own artistic thinking. Incidentally, Hiltunen was one of the artists who featured in the very first ARS exhibition in 1961.

One of the show’s prominent themes is the climate crisis. Atlantis by Luís Lázaro Matos (b. 1987, Portugal) is set in a future world where animals that have survived the climate disaster are having a celebration. In the gallery, the visitor encounters the staring eyes of underwater creatures painted on plexiglass sheets. The figures reference the light sleep of aquatic creatures but also contemporary culture, in which we are under constant surveillance by all kinds of devices.

Artistic explorations of culture

Artists from various parts of the world bring to ARS22 interpretations of their own cultures. D Harding (b. 1982, Australia) painted his work with ochre directly on the walls of Kiasma. Harding is an indigenous Australian, for whom the act of bringing pigment from his homeland wrapped in a wool blanket is an integral part of his practice. Aboriginal peoples have been using ochre for thousands of years and have transported it along trade routes across the vast continent.

El Autobús is an installation referencing travel in Latin American countries. For ARS22, Sol Calero (b. 1982, Venezuela) created a version of his piece by using seats familiar to many Finns from a local bus company. Calero’s work is a reminder of the unequal opportunities for travel and leisure among the world’s peoples.

Pia Camil (1980, Mexico) invites visitors to participate in a game of barter using objects and their stories as currency. Camil is fascinated by the concept of the gift, the exchange of gifts and also by trading without money. The installation is designed to resemble vendor stalls in the streets and markets of Mexico City.

New contemporary art from Finland

The exhibition includes many new pieces of contemporary art by Finnish practitioners. The 2021 Young Artist of the Year, Joel Slotte (b. 1987, Finland) blends reality and fantasy in his art. The plants, insects, tattoos and metal band logos in his pictures are carefully chosen symbols that invoke cultures from different eras. Many of the plants in the paintings are traditional folk remedies: mandrake has been used both as a love potion and a cure for insomnia, while the poisonous henbane, or stinking nightshade, is a psychoactive drug.

Luis Lázaro Matos: Atlantis, 2022

Oestrus by Anni Puolakka (b. 1983, Finland) is an exploration of the love of horses. Speaking to the camera, the artist recalls her experiences with horses. Might a horse girl eventually transform into a centaur, a hybrid between human and horse?

Highlights from the past ARS exhibitions

Living Encounters is the first show in the series that, alongside new work, features selected works from past ARS exhibitions. These include the documentation of a performance by artist couple Marina Abramović (b. 1946, Yugoslavia) and Ulay (1943, Germany – 2020, Slovenia), which was presented at ARS83, held at the Ateneum Art Museum. In the performance, the artists sat in place for hours without speaking, eating or drinking.

Presented originally at ARS74, When the Sea Dies (1970) by Kimmo Kaivanto (1932–2021, Finland) is a comment on the state of the world. Well ahead of its time, the work remains topical to this day. Back in the 1970s, the work spread around the world on UNICEF postcards.

Joel Slotte: Witch Vertebrae, 2021–2022

All ARS exhibitions have left their visitors with impressions that have lasted for decades. While the names of individual artists or works may be lost to time, the experiences remain unforgettable. s

Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma is part of Finnish National Gallery together with Ateneum Art Museum and Sinebrychoff Art Museum. It was re-opened in April 2022 after renovation.

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART KIASMA

Mannerheiminaukio 2, 00100 Helsinki www.kiasma.fi

Opening hours Tue–Fri 10–20:30 Sat 10–18 Sun 10–17 Mon closed

Tickets

Adults €18 Discounted admission €16 Free with Museum Card Under 18: free entry

In addition to Kiasma Theatre, the extensive performing arts programme of ARS22 spreads to the exhibition galleries and the museum foyer.

The operatic performance Sun & Sea by a Lithuanian group of artists will be presented in August at the Merikaapelihalli venue in the Cable Factory as part of the ARS22 exhibition and the Helsinki Festival programme.