Listening to the Forest that Grows - Season II

Saison II / Automn – Winter

Season II of the exhibition Listening to the Forest that Grows (from 2 December 2022 to 1 April 2023), a collaboration between Institut finlandais and Katja Hagelstam of Lokal gallery, will continue to showcase a collection of curated artworks, crafts, and design with the addition of the works of five new artists.

This new season explores nature’s cycle that inspires the creative process and personal growth, as well as the details and materials used in each piece of the exhibition. The soothing forms of Sini Villi’s three-dimensional silk thread wall pieces take their form from the harvest field landscapes of her childhood in Northern Finland. Arni Aromaa‘s combination of ceramics and glass works, Magic Ponds, creates an array of intriguing wall sculptures. Bo Haglund’s dreamlike paintings are inspired by the Finnish forests and logging in winter. Eija Koski’s hand-cut organic rye straw mobiles are inspired by the winter celebration traditions of her family home. Leena Keränen creates unique ceramic candleholders with hand-building techniques.

Specially commissioned by Institut finlandais, Melissa Sammalvaara’s artwork Tuohi returns to be exhibited on the wall of Café Maa. The exhibition is complemented by a permanent collection showcasing craftsmanship that honors nature across generations designed for the Lokal Kollection in Helsinki by the following artists: Eija Koski, Saija Halko, Nathalie Lautenbacher, Renata Schirm, Yoshimasa Yamada, Alpo Ahokas and Tuohimuori.

Through this new curatorial proposal, Institut finlandais also wishes to slow down its exhibition cycle and inaugurate a new, more organic, flexible, and sustainable way of developing the program.

Listening to the Forest that Grows was inspired by the wish to share Finnish contemporary art and craftsmanship in France, and to support, in a more permanent way, the designers and creators working in Finland. The exhibition takes place in Institut finlandais’s unique space originally designed by Juhani Pallasmaa, entirely renovated by Pekka Littow’s Littow Architects, and decorated by Studio Joanna Laajisto in 2017-2018.

Listening to the Forest that Grows – Season II presents the following 14 artists :

ARNI AROMAA

BO HAGLUND

SAIJA HALKO

ANTREI HARTIKAINEN

RENATA SCHIRM

LEENA KERÄNEN

HANNA-KAISA KOROLAINEN

EIJA KOSKI

LEENA KOUHIA

LINDA LAITINEN

NATHALIE LAUTENBACHER