Entertainer’s Day Off

In connection with Finlandia Hall’s renovation, a new public artwork was commissioned from sculptor Kimmo Schroderus. Entertainer’s Day Off is placed on the north-end terrace. The five-metre-tall human figure made of acid-proof steel is like a Finlandia Hall visitor who has ended up on the terrace, looking over the railing at the Töölönlahti Bay. The figure draws its inspiration from travellers, party-goers, performers, Harlequin and Pierrot characters, sports team mascots, and fashion, among other sources.

“Perhaps the figure is Finlandia Hall’s performer, who, after a workday, is contemplating what to do with the freedom,” the artist describes. “The result must enable as many versatile interpretations and associations as possible. I’m happy with my work when I don’t even know myself what it is about. I wanted the sculpture to be cheerful but also sad in a calm and undefined way. I also wanted the sculpture to include absurdity and exaggerated forms. A work of art can be fun or weird, even silly, but it must not be clichéd or kitsch.”

The work’s basic form is enlivened by abundant details, the light playing on them. In bright daylight, the sculpture’s surface is full of bright reflections, and at dusk, even the smallest amount of light is enough to highlight various forms in the sculpture’s surface.

Kimmo Schroderus (b. 1970) is known as a versatile artist whose expression ranges from abstract to representational. Finlandia Hall also features his earlier work, Crossroads, from 2011. Schroderus has created various public artworks around Finland, such as the Kuru sculpture in Itäkeskus, Helsinki. He was awarded the Ars Fennica prize in 2004.

The work belongs to the City of Helsinki’s art collection, which is managed and curated by HAM.