Essi Renvall, Urpo Lahtisen muotokuva, 1973, Jeppe Lahtisen kokoelma
The first and second storeys of Kimmo Pyykkö Art Museum have nearly 100 pieces on display: paintings, sculptures, graphic art, ceramics, and textile art. The pieces are selected by artist Matti Kulmala.
Spanish art has always been a special subject of interest for the Lahtinen family, which is why Kimmo Pyykkö Art Museum will display art from the following twentieth century Spanish masters: Pablo Picasso, Antoni Tàpies, Salvador Dalí, and Antonio Saura.
Finnish modernism is diversely represented in the exhibition. Among others, works by Alpo Jaakola, Unto Koistinen, Erik Enroth, and Kimmo Kaivanto are on display.
Other top names of the Finnish art scene also displayed in the exhibition are Essi Renvall, Mauri Favén, Arvo Siikamäki, Kimmo Pyykkö and many others. The portrait of Hymy Lahtinen by Marjatta Tapiola is publicly on display for the first time.
The sculpture Wooden Crystal by the British artist Tony Cragg is one of the gems of the exhibition. The piece was created from Finnish spruce. Besides Cragg, other international artists on display at the exhibition are for example the Belgian Corneille from the COBRA-movement, and Gèza Samu from Hungary.
Some of the pieces have been on display at Urpo Lahtinen’s Villa Urpo in Ylöjärvi and in Urpo, Hymy, and Jeppe Lahtinen’s private homes.
Future publisher and journalist Urpo Lahtinen was already interested in art as a schoolboy. He painted pictures of ships in the Kotka harbour and sold them to sailors. However, instead of becoming an artist, he found a career in the newspaper business.
The birth of the Lahtinen collection can be traced back to the year 1952: while on a writing trip, Urpo Lahtinen received the coloured woodcut Teurastamo (Slaughterhouse) by the Tampere artist Taisto Toivonen as a donation.
In 1957 Urpo and Hymy Lahtinen founded the first free newspaper in Finland, Tamperelainen. Urpo Lahtinen got the idea of a city magazine surviving on ad revenue from a free newspaper called De Echo on a scholarship trip to the Netherlands. Lahtinens’ business – Lehtimiehet Oy – grew quickly in the early 1960’s, especially due to the great success of the tabloid Hymy.
Their art collection grew side to side with Lahtinens’ business enterprise, and they purchased new pieces regularly. Love of art was the emphasis of all of the purchases.
Today, the approximately 800-piece collection is owned by Jeppe Lahtinen. He has continued on the road paved by his parents as a collector, and only acquired pieces he truly enjoys.
‘I think collecting art may be in our blood. You could say that art becomes a central part of your life when you grow up surrounded by it. I’ve been visiting exhibitions and gotten to meet interesting people and artists ever since I was a child. And interest in art has also been transferred to my daughters, Kukka and Klaara, who will ensure the future of the collection,’ Jeppe Lahtinen says.
‘Right now, the greatest hunger has been satiated, and I’m focusing more on the upkeep of the collection. This is of course also in part due to my dear wife, who forbids me from buying new pieces,’ he continues.
from 16th of June until 9th of September 2018 First and second storey of Kimmo Pyykkö Art Museum.
Press images of the exhibition: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4n9zqel3xsczomi/AAAzySXI4q4ebU6MdZyE2VoAa?dl=0
Piece information and the names of the photographers are in the file names and must be mentioned when the pictures are used.
Laura Pekkala Communications and Marketing Manager Kimmo Pyykkö Art Museum laura.pekkala@kangasala-talo.fi +358 040 773 0196
Kimmo Pyykkö Art Museum Kangasala Arts Centre, Kuohunharjuntie 6 36200 Kangasala kimmopyykkotaidemuseo.fi Opening hours: Tue-Wed 11AM–5PM, Thu 11AM–7PM, Fri-Sat 11AM–5PM, Sun 11AM–3PM Entrance fee 6/4 € or Museokortti, free entry for visitors under 18 years of age.
Opened in early 2015, Kimmo Pyykkö Art Museum is located in architectural award-winning Kangasala Arts Centre, 20 minutes away from Tampere. Changing exhibitions of the art museum display high-level Finnish art around the year in two storeys. In the third storey, the permanent exhibition “A Long Distance Atelier” provides insight into the life and career of Kimmo Pyykkö. Kangasala Arts Centre, designed by Heikkinen-Komonen Architects, received the Concrete Structure of the year 2015 award and the Betonijulkisivu 2015 (concrete facade) architectural award. The building was nominated for the Finlandia Prize for Architecture in 2015.
© 2019 Kangasala-talo Rekisteriseloste
