Kiasma

Kiasma is a contemporary art museum located on Mannerheimintie in Helsinki, Finland. Its name kiasma, Finnish for chiasma, alludes to the basic conceptual idea of its architect, Steven Holl. The museum exhibits the contemporary art collection of the Finnish National Gallery founded in 1990. Its central goal is to make contemporary art better known and strengthen its status.

History

An architectural design competition to design a contemporary arts museum in Helsinki was held in 1992. The competition was meant for architects from the Nordic and Baltic countries. Five internationally renowned architects participated among whom there was only one US citizen. In 1993 the work Chiasma by the American architect Steven Holl was selected from the 516 competitors. The construction of the disputed and controversial Kiasma started in 1996. The museum opened in May 1998.

The museum attracted 160,000–180,000 visitors per year in 2011–2013.

Kiasma was closed for repairs in September 2014 and reopened in the Spring 2015.

The collection

The collections include works by over 4.000 artists, like: Ahonen, Reetta, Aiha, Martti, Aken, Jan van, Andersson, Anders Gustaf, Antonio Rotta, Baron, Bernard, Baumgartner, Stig, Cornelis Bega, Nicolas Berchem, Honoré Daumier, Karel Dujardin, Nunzio Gulino, Torger Enckell, Aarne Jämsä, Ismo Kajander, Raimo Kanerva, Risto Laakkonen, etc.

See also

• Ateneum, also of the Finnish National Gallery
• Sinebrychoff Art Museum, also of the Finnish National Gallery
• EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art

References

• This article is based on a translation of an article in the Finnish Wikipedia and on Robert Schediwy Kiasma - ein neues Kunstmuseum in: Staedtebilder - Reflexionen zum Wandel in Architektur und Urbanistik, Vienna 2005 p 98.

Further reading

• Nancy Marmer, "Holl's Kiasma Debuts in Helsinki," Art in America, October 1998, p. 35.

External links

• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website