Dreamaholic
Art from Finland. Miettinen Collection
Fascination Finland-with the exhibition Dreamaholic, the Weserburg is for the first time providing an insight into the current Finnish art scene. The works come from the Miettinen Collection, which is based in Berlin and Helsinki. In addition to established artists such as Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Jiri Geller, and Robert Lucander, the exhibition primarily presents young positions, many of which have yet to be discovered. They reflect the lively diversity of Finnish contemporary art and make it obvious how independently they deal with international trends and art debates. In addition to sculpture and photography, painting is a focal point within the exhibition. The further development of constructive and minimalist concepts is represented as well as the resumption and continuation of representational pictorial forms of Pop Art and Postmodernism. The range of chosen forms of expression extends from poetic pictorial inventions to the homoerotic depictions of Tom of Finland.
“The Bremen selection from the Miettinen Collection, which is still completely unknown in this country, is a stroke of luck in international art encounters.” Rainer Berthold Schossig in Deutschlandfunk. The radio report for re-listening can be found here
The exhibition title Dreamaholic, borrowed from a painting by Jani Hänninen, impressively describes the inventive power of art, but also the great passion with which Timo Miettinen, together with his wife and three sisters, has assembled the collection. It comprises a total of 800 works of Finnish and international art. Dreamaholic presents a pointed selection and emphatically proves collector Timo Miettinen’s credo: “Looking at Finnish art, you can still experience one or two surprises.”
With the start of the international jazzahead! Trade Fair from April 27 to 30, the Weserburg will open another impressive artist space with works by Marianna Uutinen, all from the Miettinen Collection.
With the kind support of the Museumsfreunde Weserburg. In cooperation with the Finland Institute in Germany, finnland-institut.de.
Artists in the exhibition
Ville Andersson, HC Berg, Elina Brotherus, EGS, Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Tom of Finland, Noora Geagea, Jiri Geller, Denise Grünstein, Jani Hänninen, Ulla Jokisalo, Pekka Jylhä, Kaarina Kaikkonen, Ismo Kajander, Ola Kolehmainen, Matti Kujasalo, Ville Kylätasku, Jani Leinonen, Robert Lucander, Niko Luoma, Jan Olof Mallander, Jaakko Mattila, Kirsi Mikkola, Jussi Niva, L-G Nordström, Janne Räisänen, Silja Rantanen, Aurora Reinhard, Vaula Siiskonen, Tommi Toija, Marianna Uutinen, Jenni Yppärilä.
jazzahead! Festival 2017 - Partner Country Finland - Concerts at the Weserburg.
The exhibition is also part of the jazzahead! Festival 2017 with the partner country Finland. In this context and beyond, several concerts with Finnish jazz and experimental musicians are planned at the Weserburg, including at the exhibition opening on Friday, February 3, during the trade fair from April 27 to 30, and at the club concert as part of the popular jazzahead! clubnight on April 29. More information on the program coming soon at jazzahead.de
Miettinen Collection
Timo Miettinen, chairman of Teleste Oyj and board member of Ensto Oy, has maintained his close connection with art since the age of fifteen. Together with his mother, he began collecting Finnish landscape painting of the 19th and 20th centuries. Since 2004, Timo Miettinen and his family have been expanding the collection to include international contemporary art. Timo Miettinen has worked in Germany for many years and has remained closely connected to the country through his residences in Helsinki and Berlin.
In 2010 Miettinen founded Salon Dahlmann in Berlin Charlottenburg, named after the last owner of the house, Hildegard Dahlmann. This location established a link to the tradition of Berlin salon culture, whose origins can be found in the Kurfürstendamm area of West Berlin. The salon presents a diverse program that includes a wide range of artistic formats: Exhibitions, concerts, performances and workshops. “Internationally, Germany has always been my second spiritual home. This project means for me to now be able to build a bridge between Berlin and Helsinki. In addition, I want to establish Finnish artists who are not yet so well known here.”
The Miettinen Collection contains paintings, drawings and sculptures by artists of different generations and nationalities from the 19th to the 21st century, as well as marble sculptures from Roman antiquity. The collection has two goals: It aims to promote young art and strengthen the profile of important (not only) Finnish artists. At the same time, it is concerned with an exchange of artistic ideas at a high international level. Therefore, the collection includes a wide range of artists, including Georg Baselitz, Louise Bourgeois, Monica Bonvicini, André Butzer, William Copley, Matthias Dornfeld, Luis Gordillo, Peter Halley, Secundino Hernández, Kaarina Kaikkonen, Matti Kujasalo, Heikki Marila, Kirsi Mikkola, Jussi Niva, Albert Oehlen, Janne Räisänen, Aurora Reinhard, Anselm Reyle, Julian Röder, Helene Schjerfbeck, Marianna Uutinen, Manolo Valdés. From this collection, the Miettinen Collection also occupies three artists’ rooms in the Weserburg with works by Joachim Bandau, Julian Röder, and the Spaniard Secundino Hernández.
Today, the Miettinen Collection can be seen as part of thematic temporary exhibitions in Salon Dahlmann and in the adjacent private apartment. A part is open to the public in a private setting in Helsinki. The Weserburg is presenting the Miettinen Collection in a museum context for the first time. Further information at www.salon-dahlmann.de
Accompanying program
Concerts:
Aki Rissanen, jazz pianist – Friday, February 03, 2017, 7 p.m. (as part of the exhibition opening), free admission.
Iro Haarla, jazz pianist – Wednesday, April 26, 2017, 7 p.m.
Tuuletar, vocal folk hop band – Saturday, April 29, 2017, 8 p.m. (as part of jazzahead! clubnight), clubnight ticket 20/25 euros
Curator’s tour:
With Ingo Clauß – Thursday, February 09, 2017, 6pm, 8/5 euros plus 3 euros tour fee. For more guided tours see here
Workshop and wall reading:
Creative Writing in the Exhibition – Saturday, March 18, 2017, 11 am, cost 35 eurosFurther info: www.anke-fischer.de. Registration with Anke Fischer: Tel.: 0421 8413522, anke.fischer(at)email.de.
Wall reading – Sunday, April 02, 3 pm, 9/5 euros. Prose, poetry, reflections, surprising and whimsical stories from the writing workshop with Anke Fischer will be presented in a public reading directly at the artworks.
Film program:
film:art 76: Dreamaholic. Films from Finland – Tuesday, April 4, 2017, 8:30 p.m., at CITY 46 Cinema Presented by Christine Rüffert (University of Bremen). With films by Elina Brotherus, Aurora Reinhard, Eija-Liisa Ahtila,Jaana Kokko, Marjatte Oja/Dave Berg, Jaakko Pallasvuo.
Catalog presentation with collector talk:
Wednesday, April 26, 2017, 6 p.m., free admission. Followed by the opening of Marianna Uutinen’s new artist space with a jazz concert by Iro Haarla.
Finissage with collector’s talk and concert.
Friday, August 25, 2017, 6 p.m., free admission.
Dreamaholic – vivace, crescendo.
We celebrate together with Finnish guests the end of the exhibition “Dreamaholic. Art from Finland”. A diverse program awaits you that evening. At 6 p.m. we start with the presentation of the exhibition catalog and a collector’s talk with Timo Miettinen. At 8 pm we invite you to a concert with Annemarie Åström (violin) and Terhi Dostal (piano). They will play classical music from Finland with works by Toivo Kuula (1883-1918), Oskar Merikanto (1868-1924), Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) and Einar Englund (1916-1999): Sonata for violin and piano (1979).
This evening’s music program is made possible by the Aue Foundation (Helsinki) with support from the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Fund (Helsinki).”
Artist space Marianna Uutinen
Miettinen Collection
April 27 – August 27, 2017
Opening: Wednesday, April 26, 2017 at 7 p.m.
With a concert by jazz pianist Iro Haarla.
Marianna Uutinen is known for her gestural-abstract, often large-scale paintings. The artist, who lives in Helsinki and Berlin, likes to use unusually garish and bright colors such as neon pink, but also gold, silver and black. Together with the often raised, sometimes strongly shiny surfaces and color layers, she succeeds in creating works of impressive presence and intensity. Spontaneous associations – such as glamour, kitsch, and glittering nightlife – are thereby aroused in a calculated manner. But what comes across with cool verve reveals itself at second glance as a consistent investigation of experimental painting methods. With piles of paint, multiple overlapping layers, random and controlled settlements, Uutinen explores the possibilities and limits of contemporary painting in an insidious way.