Strange play (20 September 2025 – 11 January 2026)

There are those who know how to play the part of a child and others who don’t even realize that they’re playing the part of an adult. Where are the boundaries and the common rules of play drawn? How do toys play when they’re left alone?

Ilai Elias Lehto’s solo exhibition extends from the artist’s studio beyond the boundaries of the playground, challenging the audience to explore the limits of play at the Kimmo Pyykkö Art Museum from 20 September 2025 to 11 January 2026.

Ilai Elias Lehto (b. 1988, Joensuu) is a sculptor from North Karelia, eastern Finland, now based in Tampere. He primarily works with soft and recycled materials, mixing and fusing the traditions and techniques of fine arts and textiles craftsmanship. A recurring element in many of his works is the use of soft or furry surfaces that invite touch, such as the faux fur of plush toys, corduroy, or felting wool. The toy-like shapes and gentle textures in Lehto’s art often conceal profound questions about life itself.

Kimmo Pyykkö Art Museum, 1st and 2nd floor

The Many Faces of Teemu Luoto (31 January – 24 May 2026)

For over six decades, ceramic artist Teemu Luoto (born in 1941) and his 1971 creation, Taidepappila Art Centre in Kuhmalahti, have been a unique part of the cultural history of the Tampere Region.

”The Many Faces of Teemu Luoto” is a retrospective exhibition bringing Teemu Luoto’s multifaceted work to the Kimmo Pyykkö Art Museum. Luoto is particularly well-known for his ceramic works based on animal characters, as well as his masks and homo-erotic sculptures.

Animals have been the subject closest to Luoto’s heart. Indeed, he has also approached other subjects through animals. Occasional hints of fairytale creatures appear in his works, and the animal characters also sometimes function as a tool for queer self-expression. As a result, the exhibition examines Luoto’s art through the perspective of embodiment and sexuality – themes which he has handled fearlessly during times when presenting them in art form has been pushed to the margins or wholly rejected. The exhibition also features a wide selection of masks created using the death mask technique. Their gaze is intense, sometimes mysterious, but always contains ingredients of storytelling and symbolism.

Teemu Luoto’s works – like his persona – are possessed of a warm humour, which completely comes through in his works. Luoto’s relationship with his works is very close: he shapes the clay with a deep concentration, and constructs a personality, an identity and a life for his sculptures. The language of his ceramic art is sometimes purposely rough, but occasionally the softness of clay comes through in the end result.

The Kuhmalahti Taidepappila Art Center, which, due to municipal mergers, is now located in Kangasala, is an inextricable part of Teemu Luoto’s life and artistic heritage, and its future will be secured by the Teemu Luoto Art Foundation created in 2025. The exhibition “The Many Faces of Teemu Luoto” includes items and works from the Taidepappila’s surroundings, and they bring their own characteristic additions to the story of the exhibition.