Saastamoinen Foundation is Frame Contemporary Art Finland’s main partner in the Pavilion of Finland exhibition at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022. Pilvi Takala’s video work Close Watch, which premieres at the biennale, will be shown at EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art in early 2023 as a result of this collaboration.
“We are very happy to partner with Saastamoinen Foundation, whose significant support has enabled both the extensive production process of Pilvi Takala’s work and its presentation to the Finnish public so soon after the biennale exhibition,” says Raija Koli, Director of Frame and Commissioner of the Pavilion of Finland.
“Internationality is at the heart of Saastamoinen Foundation’s work, and it is therefore a great pleasure to join Frame as its main partner in Venice. Supporting Pilvi Takala’s new work is important to us because she is one of Finland’s most interesting moving-image artists. Her new work explores key issues of our time such as public space and the concept of security. Infiltrating different communities, which is characteristic of her work, affords her the opportunity to observe and raise debate regarding norms and modes of behaviour that are often hidden in society and communities,” says Päivi Karttunen, Chair of the Saastamoinen Foundation Arts Committee.
EMMA is Frame’s partner at the biennale. It is home to Saastamoinen Foundation’s art collection, to which Pilvi Takala’s work, which will open the art museum’s 2023 exhibition year, belongs.
“It is great to be involved in the Venice Biennale and raise awareness of Saastamoinen Foundation and EMMA’s ambitious series of commission exhibitions. We are proud to present Pilvi Takala’s new work at EMMA as part of this concept,” says Pilvi Kalhama, the museum’s executive director.
Close Watch will be on display in the Pavilion of Finland at the 59th Venice Biennale from 24 April to 27 November. The exhibition is curated by Christina Li.
Pilvi Takala photographed in EMMA. Photo: Ari Karttunen / EMMA
The exhibition in the Pavilion of Finland is commissioned and produced by Frame Contemporary Art Finland. Frame, an advocate for Finnish contemporary art, supports international initiatives, facilitates professional partnerships, and encourages critical development of the field through grants, visitor programme and residencies, seminars and talks, exhibition collaborations and network platforms.
Saastamoinen Foundation supports and enables a variety of initiatives relate to art and artists, society, and scientific research, both independently and in collaboration with its Finnish partner universities, EMMA- Espoo Museum of Modern Art and other organizations. The foundation also promotes international networking, scholarships and education, as well as social projects targeted primarily at young beneficiaries. The foundation is internationally known for its collection of around 2,700 artworks, which ranks among the most prestigious private collections in Finland. The collection consists primarily of contemporary art, a selection of which is on permanent display at the EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art.
The Espoo Museum of Modern Art – EMMA presents a cross-section of Finnish and international modernist art, contemporary art, and design. The museum is a landmark of industrial architecture designed by Professor Aarno Ruusuvuori, forming part of the WeeGee Exhibition Centre in the Espoo district of Tapiola. The minimalist modern architecture provides an inspirational backdrop for presenting temporary exhibitions and works from the EMMA collection and those of its partners Saastamoinen Foundation, Collection Kakkonen and the Tapio Wirkkala Rut Bryk Foundation Collection. EMMA is a museum for powerful art and transformative experiences.