Ars Fennica 2025, Helsinki Art Museum

 The Ars Fennica visual arts prize exhibition is a good deal for museums. They get a curated, branded, and largely funded exhibition. This kind of arrangement frees up museums, which are currently committed to quite tight exhibition schedules, to prepare for other exhibitions. And it saves money

Read this article in Finnish here

HANNA VIHRIÄLÄ: Aisti (Sense/Instinct) (2025, detail)

I recall that once upon a time some museums were somewhat reserved about hosting the Ars Fennica exhibition in their own space. The view was that such an exhibition would narrow the museum's own exhibition policy. Now the world has changed so that a high-quality international contemporary art exhibition is, I believe, acceptable to all art museums.

The Henna and Pertti Niemistö Art Foundation awards the €50,000 visual arts prize every second year. Candidates have included artists from Finland, other Nordic countries, and the Baltic region. The candidates for 2025 were nominated by the prize committee appointed by the foundation, which includes Leena Niemistö, Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Leevi Haapala, and HAM (Helsinki Art Museum) Director Arja Miller.

The candidates are Ragna Bley (Norway/Sweden), Roland Persson (Sweden), Jani Ruscica (Finland/Italy), and Hanna Vihriälä (Finland). A good addition to the exhibition are the artists' video introductions in the museum's lecture hall (subtitles: Finnish, Swedish, English). I watched Roland Persson's introduction there myself. At least for me, it clearly opened up the background to his art. I would gladly check out the videos beforehand if they were available online.

Artist Introduction Video. Roland Persson: All Art is Political

Ragna Bley (b. 1986, Norway/Sweden) often paints large-scale works on the floor, pouring paint onto the canvas. The result is landscape-like stratifications that reflect the forces of nature and randomness. The works deal with the invisible forces of nature and move between the representational and the abstract. She sometimes uses dyed snow as well. Bley lives and works in Oslo. In Tennispalatsi (HAM), Bley utilizes the full height of the exhibition space.

Ragna Bley. Photo Lars Petter Pettersson

RAGNA BLEY: Yksikään tie ei ollut selkeä, yksikään valo särkymätön (No Path was Clear, No Light Unbroken), 2023, Ars Fennica 2025

RAGNA BLEY: Silmätön jako (Eyeless Division/Split) (2025, oil, acrylic, salt and snow on linen canvas)

Roland Persson’s (b. 1963, Sweden) art focuses on the relationship between humans and nature, depicting nature as simultaneously destructive and constructive. In the exhibition's introductory video, he mentions, among other things, that natural history museums are important to him. He uses silicone as a material, which he casts into molds. The result is surreal, stark, yet compassionate sculptures. Persson is also known in Sweden for his public space works and lives in Stockholm. His public sculptures were featured in the museum's artist introduction video.

Roland Persson. Photo Sofia Olander

ROLAND PERSSON: Hiljaisuuden taianomainen hetki (The Magical Moment of Silence) (2025, silicone)

ROLAND PERSSON: Nousuvettä odottaessa (Waiting for High Tide) (2025, silicone)

Jani Ruscica’s (b. 1978, Finland/Italy) murals, sculptures, and video works stretch and bend, as characterized in the exhibition's descriptive texts. Ruscica works with moving and printed image, sculpture, and performance art. He lives and works in Helsinki.

Jani Ruscica, Ars Fennica 2025. Photo HAM, Maija Toivanen

Ruscica takes command of the exhibition space immediately upon entering the upstairs gallery.

JANI RUSCICA: Tatuoitu (uudelleenkiinnittymisen järjestelmä) (Tattooed (System of Reattachment)) (2025, mural) and Muodoton kapriisi (muusikon muotokuva - Linda Fredriksson) (Formless Caprice (Portrait of a Musician - Linda Fredriksson)) (2025, two-channel video installation, eight improvised takes, random playback, stereo sound, endless duration - total video material duration 133 min)

Hanna Vihriälä (b. 1974, Finland) focuses her art on everyday observations and personal experiences. Her art is characterized in the exhibition as having a pronounced material feel and a tension between the durable and the fragile in her large-scale works. She also utilizes translucency, reflections, and shadows in her works. Vihriälä lives and works in Tampere.

Hanna Vihriälä. Photo Paula Ollikainen

In the media, Vihriälä's work utilizing bulk candy has been highlighted the most among the exhibited pieces. However, there are also other impressive installations on display.

HANNA VIHRIÄLÄ: Houkutus (Temptation) (2025, bulk candy, wire). Working group Siiri Heikkilä, Sanni Ikonen, Laine Jaanisoo, Luule Jaanisoo, Venla Karppinen, Markus Lampinen, Mako Niemelä, Irene Oinonen, Jen Petal, Tini Sarola, Vuono Visuri

HANNA VIHRIÄLÄ: Aisti (Sense/Instinct) (2025, painted wire, aluminium, plastic, wood)

The public favorite can be voted for with a slip available at the ticket office. Based on a few minutes of observation at the doorway, most slips were dropped into Hanna Vihriälä's box. Visitors were also particularly photographing her works. Selfies were taken too. The informed guess is that she is at least the Ars Fennica audience favorite.

October 24, 2025 – March 29, 2026

Photos (taken November 6, 2025) from the exhibition by the author, unless the photographer is specified separately.

Artist descriptions from the exhibition's information boards.

Helsinki City Art Museum HAM

https://www.hamhelsinki.fi/en/current-exhibitions/