Graniittipursi / The Granite Boat

The Granite Boat was unveiled at the inauguration of the new Sibelius Academy building in 1983. Music played a large role in Ukri Merikanto’s (1950-2010) childhood – his father was the well-known composer Aarre Merikanto – and music-related elements are common in his art; in `The Granite Boat’ the harmony of structures and the use of space is based on contrapunctal composition. The purity of the modernist tradition combined with delicate lyricism is characteristic of Ukri Merikanto’s works. In `The Granite Boat’, Merikanto’s skill is displayed in the way matter and form come together. The closures of the red granite and the surface enlivened by mica release the stone from its crushing mass.

The work doesn’t belong to the City of Helsinki’s art collection, which is managed by HAM.