The vision to see something new combined with the talent to meld that vision into a physical reality is a rare and wonderful thing. And so it is that at every possible opportunity, Cody and I make art museums a part of our life here in Finland. Our most recent trip to Oulu included time at the lovely Oulu Museum of Art.
Located on the edge of Ainola Park, a portion of the museum is in the 1921 Birger Federley-designed industrial building that once housed a leather factory and later a coffee and tea company. In the late 1980’s the City of Oulu carried out the construction of a new building that ties into the old industrial building. The result is a marvelous combination of space that itself acts as art.
On display right now were several exhibits covering a wide array of mediums and materials. Glass works by Alma Jantunen and Johannes Rantasalo, oil paintings by Jaako Pakkala, and a show of visual and design arts by Anna-Maija Aarras, Klaus Haapaniemi, Ulla Pohjola, Caroline SLotte and Virpi Vesanen-Laukkanen. I cannot say that everyone who visits gets a personally guided tour by the museum director, Anna-Riikka Hirvonen, but we did and she made each piece of art even more compelling with “back-stories” about the artists and the various works on display.
Wondering "just how do you get into this dress?"
