Upcoming exhibitions
Viggo Wallensköld / 9.9.2022-12.3.2023
In autumn 2022, HAM will be opening a solo exhibition of visual artist and author Viggo Wallensköld (born 1969). The exhibition will be curated by Christina Bäcksbacka, PhD, who has been collaborating with the artist since 2000. Over the decades, Bäcksbacka’s Taidesalonki art gallery in Helsinki has hosted nine exhibitions of Wallensköld. In addition to establishing a friendship coloured by understanding, joy, humour and hilarious puns, this long-lasting collaboration has now led to an exhibition at Helsinki Art Museum.
Viggo Wallensköld’s paintings often explore the physical diversity of and differences between people. His fictional characters have something familiar to them, but also something highly unusual and peculiar. Mixed in terms of gender and age, crippled or living as parts of machines, these characters are strange, yet very appealing. According to Bäcksbacka, Wallensköld’s paintings demonstrate human understanding and acceptance of experiences of being an outsider and different. “The titles of the paintings are not unambiguous either, having multiple layers and offering unexpected perspectives to the viewer. Viggo’s principle is that he paints exactly what he feels that he needs to paint at any given time – regardless of what might be expected of the work.”
Wallensköld’s artistic breakthrough occurred immediately after his second exhibition at Taidesalonki. In 2002, he won the Finnish Art Society’s Ducat Prize, and in 2005 Wallensköld was named Young Artist of the Year.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a HAM publication on Viggo Wallensköld’s art.
Viggo Wallensköld has also written five novels, the latest of which will be published by Siltala Publishing in spring 2022.
HAM Gallery
The HAM Gallery showcases Finnish art and rising artists. The exhibitions are chosen based on an application process and displayed for a period of seven weeks. All HAM Gallery exhibitions are always free of charge.
Exhibitions at HAM Gallery in 2022
15.1.-27.2.2022
Maiju Hukkanen
5.3.-24.4.2022
Harriina Räinä
30.4. – 12.6.2022
Lora Dimova & Leda Vaneva
18.6. – 7.8.2022
Niklas Ingelius