Night. Sinebrychoff Art Museum

 I woke up during the night. I listened to an audiobook and fell back asleep. I dreamed of a forest

Hugo Simberg (Hamina 1873–1917 Ähtäri): The Night Wanderer, 1890–96. Watercolour and gouache. Finnish National Gallery Collection | Ateneum Art Museum

You can read this text in Finnish from here

The Sinebrychoff Art Museum’s new exhibition, Night, resonates with those of us who are light sleepers—those concerned about a world that seems to be growing ever more frantic.

Photo from the exhibition

The exhibition stands out from most art museum displays through its narrative approach. It is a journey from dusk till dawn. The storytellers are Henriikka Tavi’s poems, the selected artworks, and the exhibition space itself, shaped by architecture, graphics, and lighting. A fourth dimension—and a personal touch for the viewer—is introduced through a presentation of dream-related folklore and the opportunity to participate by sharing one’s own dreams.

The exhibition is staged on the museum's first floor. It isn't particularly large in terms of square footage, consisting of only about five rooms. These rooms are the original residence of the Sinebrychoff merchant family, so designing an exhibition that blends classical and contemporary art within them was likely no easy task. However, the space has been utilized excellently. The sightlines from doorways leading to the next section are particularly well-resolved. The visitor feels the exhibition continuing beyond each "gateway," creating a natural flow into the next part of the story.

Photo from the exhibition

In the first hall, the mood shifts toward a moonlit night through fragments of Henriikka Tavi's poetry. Perhaps by chance, the first artist in the exhibition has a surname starting with A: Ivan Aivazovsky. His work, The Bay of Naples, dates from 1844. Ivan Aivazovsky (1817–1900) was one of the most significant marine painters of the 19th century. While perhaps not the most pivotal work of the Armenian-Russian Hovhannes Aivazyan (Հովհannes Այվազյան), it is a fitting choice for this exhibition.

Ivan Aivazovski (Feodosia, Crimea 1817–1900): The Bay of Naples, 1844. Oil on canvas. Finnish National Gallery Collection | Sinebrychoff Art Museum. Beatrice Granberg Collection

Other notable paintings in the first section include Karl Wilhelm de Hamilton’s Plants and Animals (1735) and Aert van der Neer’s Moonlight on the River from the 1640s.

Karl Wilhelm de Hamilton (Brussels 1668–1754 Augsburg): Forest Floor Still Life, 1735. Oil on panel. Finnish National Gallery Collection | Sinebrychoff Art Museum

De Hamilton’s work has also been highlighted for the "Moon Tour" aimed at children, hung specifically at a child’s eye level. The painting is a still life of the forest floor. Hamilton was a Flemish-born painter who worked mainly in Germany, often featuring thistles in his pieces. His works depict small animals—butterflies, snakes, lizards, frogs, and snails—with meticulous, naturalistic detail amidst the vegetation.

The Dutchman Aert van der Neer (c. 1603–1677) specialized particularly in winter landscapes and moonlit nightscapes.Aert van der Neer (Gorinchem 1603–1677 Amsterdam): River in Moonlight, 1640s. Oil on canvas. Finnish National Gallery Collection | Sinebrychoff Art Museum. Paul and Fanny Sinebrychoff's Art Collections

The contemporary works in this hall do not perhaps stand as prominently alongside the old masters, with the exception of Kain Tapper’s piece from 1969.

Helsinki-based painter Emmu Johansson’s Recumbent Face for Yves Klein (2017) is placed at the entrance of the next hall to create the aforementioned point de vue (viewpoint). Upon entering, one’s attention is drawn to a painting that, at first glance, resembles Helene Schjerfbeck’s famous The Convalescent (1888). However, it is not; it is The Reading Hour by Swedish artist Georg Pauli, completed four years before Schjerfbeck’s version.

Georg Pauli (Jönköping 1855–1935 Tullinge): Evening Reading, 1884. Oil on canvas. Finnish National Gallery Collection | Ateneum Art Museum

The exhibition also "counts sheep." On display is 17th-century graphic art (Sheep and Flies, A Sheep, Two Sheep and Flying Birds, Sheep at the Base of a Pillar, Goat and Sheep among Ancient Ruins, Lying Sheep, and Sheep by a Board Fence). These are strikingly embedded in large mats. Printed onto the cardboard, weaving around the prints, is Tavi’s poem about sheep. At this stage, Henriikka Tavi’s poems truly begin to pace the exhibition, becoming an integral part of the whole and visual art in their own right.

Photo from the exhibition

There are several excellent examples where the hanging of the art creates a dialogue between pieces. For instance, Kalervo Palsa’s Granite Bed (1971) and Timo Takala’s Insomniac (2009) form a pair that is further emphasized by the lighting.

Kalervo Palsa (Kittilä 1947–1987): Granite Bed, 1971. Pencil and ink. Finnish National Gallery Collection | Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma. Timo Takala (1980): Sleepless, 2009. Stone. State Art Deposit Collection, Finnish National Gallery

The next hall has a unique atmosphere. In addition to spotlights, a chandelier hangs from the ceiling, occasionally flickering and startling the viewer. 

This hall features several prints of Frans Toikkanen’s cat graphics. An extremely skilled graphic artist, Toikkanen naturally captures these "masters of darkness."

Frans Toikkanen (Saarijärvi 1926–2008): Hairy Worm, 1960. Mezzotint. Finnish National Gallery Collection | Ateneum Art Museum. Hairy Worm, 1977. Fast Stuck, 1972. Mezzotint. State Art Deposit Collection, Finnish National Gallery

Back in my student days, I worked as a weekend attendant at a gallery for printmakers. I remember Toikkanen’s cats were always at the top of the sales list. Now, it seems the museum has also produced posters of these cats for the museum shop.

In the final hall, before returning to the start of the loop, we arrive at the dawn of morning. A central piece here is likely Henriikka Tavi’s poem—a journey from a flattened toothbrush toward the morning and a new day.

Photo from the exhibition

The poem enters into a wonderful conversation with Johannes Tobias Sergel’s Faun (1770–1774) placed in the center of the floor. The faun looks as if he is rubbing sleep from his eyes. I had to double-check that the stick in the faun's hand wasn't a toothbrush.

Johan Tobias Sergel (Stockholm 1740–1814): Faun, 1774. Marble. Finnish National Gallery Collection | Sinebrychoff Art Museum

The paintings here reflect the theme of Dawn. Just as the fishermen headed out to sea in the first hall, they are now returning in these paintings.

More contemporary art is placed on the wall by the door leading to the ticket office and shop. On display are Helmi Remes’s glass piece August Sun (2018) and Esko Tirronen’s Morning Theme I (1975), known for his female figures.

Helmi Remes (Tampere 1983): August Sun, 2018. Free-blown glass, filigree. State Art Deposit Collection, Finnish National Gallery. Esko Tirronen (Harlu 1934–2011 Kuusankoski): Morning Motive I, 1975. Oil and tempera on canvas. Finnish National Gallery Collection | Ateneum Art Museum

At the end of the exhibition is the "Dream Archive" extension. It consists of archive cards from the Finnish Literature Society (SKS) regarding dreams. Copies of archived dreams are placed on the corridor wall, adding a documentary and personal dimension. Here, visitors also have the chance to share their own dream memories. These archives contain thousands of dream descriptions from different decades, offering a glimpse into the Finnish mental landscape, fears, and hopes. Unlike the artworks in the exhibition, which are artists' interpretations, these cards are direct descriptions of nocturnal experiences by ordinary people.

A Dream of the End of the World

I once had a dream about how the end of the world began to arrive. There were many of us who knew that the end of the world was coming now. The sun began to set, and it sank slowly, and darkness began to come gradually, and there was a very somber atmosphere. The sun set slowly, and the whole world began to turn very dark. Only a small edge of the sun was still visible. And that is when I woke up.

Source Details: Location: Karunki. Collector: Armas Viita. Reference: TK 117: 166. 1961. Informant: Yrjö Kokko, b. 1910. Archive: Finnish Literature Society (SKS) Archive.

The cards on display here are copies made for this exhibition of the Finnish Literature Society's archived originals, and are from the archive's traditions and contemporary culture collection. The Finnish Literature Society (SKS) was founded in 1831 at a time when the idea of Finnish as a language of education and administration was a utopia. Today, SKS is a memory organisation that researches, preserves and promotes Finnish cultural heritage

This archival section feels like a great fit. It brings a human experience of night and sleep to the narrative. The section also seems to engage the public; when I visited, the exhibition had just opened, and even though there were few visitors at that moment, new memories had already been left in the collection box. During my visit, active travelers added two new dream experiences in English. The SKS archive is thus expanding beyond Finland's borders.

It is difficult for an outsider to judge the division of labor within the exhibition team. However, one can guess that the roles of the distinguished graphic designer, architect, and lighting designer were significant. And without the poet, this wouldn't work.

Photo from the exhibition

Photos from the exhibition taken by the author on 12/02/2026

Night

Duration: 12/12/2026 – 08/23/2026

The exhibition texts, including the poems, are in three languages: Finnish, Swedish, and English.

More about the Sinebrychoff Museum (in Finnish)

Sinebrychoff museum webpage

Henriikka Tavi interview (in Finnish)