NATIONAL EXHIBITION: FINLAND’S FINE ART 1981

PRESS RELEASE

When the Ministry of Education issued its decision in 1974 regarding the organization of region-specific and national art exhibitions funded by the state, the intention behind this decision was to aim for a regionally equitable distribution of cultural services and to generally increase interest in visual arts. According to the then-member of the State Visual Arts Committee, Lauri Ahlgrén, one of the goals was also to discover and strengthen regional identity. (Helsingin Sanomat, 31.12.1974)

The first national exhibition was held that same year in Turku, followed by Jyväskylä and Helsinki. The regional exhibitions preceding the Helsinki exhibition in 1976 were, for the first time, juried.

In the two previous years, amateur participation had been notably high, resulting in a rather varied appearance of the regional exhibitions. Completely open regional exhibitions had sparked “both admiration and dismay” (Helsingin Sanomat, 31.12.1974). Particularly, the public, which reportedly attended the exhibitions “in throngs” in some places, seemed to appreciate the involvement of amateurs.

In some respects, the general decline in quality caused by the influx of amateurs deterred especially more established artists from participating in the regional exhibitions, which indirectly affected the national exhibition as well. Following the national exhibition held in Rovaniemi in 1977, the exhibitions have since been organized only every other year. This reform aimed to encourage greater participation by professional artists, thereby raising the overall standard.

The national exhibition system was originally launched with high expectations. However, these hopes have not fully materialized, and today it seems that the current system hardly satisfies anyone. Established artists have shown limited interest in participating, amateurs feel excluded from professional exhibitions, and the national exhibition has not succeeded in becoming a comprehensive platform for art across the country, as was initially envisioned. Dissenting opinions have not been lacking. For example, the Greater Helsinki regional exhibition in 1974 was described as a “chaos of images” with “scant representation of the best artists” (Uusi Suomi, 24.9.1974), and a critic from Aamulehti titled the Häme regional exhibition in the same year as a “mishmash” (21.9.1974).

What went wrong?

This issue has been pondered over the years, both within the State Visual Arts Committee and among artists’ organizations and in the field. The root cause of the reluctance to participate seems to lie in the drawbacks brought about by the two-stage jurying process. On the other hand, participation in large public exhibitions no longer seems to hold the same importance as it once did. Today, the primary channels for showcasing works are solo and smaller group exhibitions.

The national exhibition to be held in Pori this year is only the sixth in the series, but the faded hopes hang in the air like withered autumn leaves — are there any trains left to catch?

The jury’s aim has been to assemble an exhibition of the highest possible quality, taking into account the diversity of artistic styles. No prior agreements have been made regarding quotas by region. This year, the jury’s work has been streamlined by limiting the regional exhibitions to a two-month period.

As the chairman of the jury and on behalf of the State Visual Arts Committee, I am pleased to thank all the regional exhibition juries and other staff members for their efforts in making this exhibition possible.

Special thanks are due to the city of Pori and its Cultural Committee, whose efforts have made it possible for the National Exhibition of Finnish Art 1981 to be showcased in the spacious and technically outstanding facilities of the new Pori Art Museum.

(Foreword by Erik Bergh in the publication Valtakunnan näyttely: Suomen kuvataide 1981)

The exhibition includes the following artists:

Leo Ackley, Ilppo Alho, Heikki Alitalo, Elisa Aro, Marjatta Hanhijoki, Jorma Hautala, Erkki Heinonen, Mauri Heinonen, Erkki Hienonen, Veikko Hirvimäki, Lars Holmström, Veijo Hukka, Reijo Hukkanen, Niilo Hyttinen, Hannu Hämäläinen, Unto Hämäläinen, Kaija-Leena Hänninen, Mikko Jalavisto, Antti Jantunen, Risto Junnilainen, Aarne Jämsä, Markku Jääskeläinen, Manno Kalliomäki, Maija Kanervo, Olof Kangas, Erkki Kannosto, Antero Kare, Jussi Koivusalo, Risto Kolari, Vladimir Kopteff, Kauko Kortelainen, Reijo Koskela, Inari Krohn, Kristian Krokfors, Jean-Erik Kullberg, Liisa Kullberg, Eero Kumpula, Lauri Laine, Kalle Lehmussaari, Veikko Lehtovaara, Einari Levo, Margareetta Liljeblad, Juhani Linnovaara, Rauni Liukko, Pero Luostarinen, Irma Mattila, Kirsti Melartin, Kaarlo Mikkonen, Tapani Mikkonen, Osmo Monto, Kirsti Muinonen, Jukka Mäkelä, Heikki Mäki-Tuuri, Erik Mäkinen, Taru Mäntynen, Pekka Nevalainen, Antti Niinimäki, Maarit Nissilä, Jukka Nopsanen, Matti Nurminen, Veikko Nuutinen, Hannu Ojala, Antero Olin, Reijo Paavilainen, Marjatta Palasto, Paavo Pelvo, Pauno Pohjolainen, Kimmo Pyykkö, Mari Rantanen, Arto Rautavuori, Raimo Reinikainen, Tuomas Renvall, Hannu Riikonen, Esa Riippa, Helge Riskula, Väinö Rouvinen, Kauko Ruponen, Seija Rustholkarhu, Pekka Ryynänen, Lauri Räikkönen, Jaakko Rönkkö, Katriina Salo, Heli Salonen, Erkki Santanen, Heikki Somersalo, Ossi Somma, Erkki Soukka, Keijo Sundvall, Anne Sunila, Ahti Susiluoto, Juha Tammenpää, Hannu Taros, Tarja Teräsvuori, Heikki Tuomela, Immo Tuominen, Sinikka Tuominen, Reijo Turunen, Tanja Ubaleht, Antti Ukkonen, Osmo Valtonen, Matti Waskilampi, Pekka Vesterinen, Sven-Olof Westerlund, Jim Wichmann, Pirkko Viitasalo, Juhani Vikainen, Reijo Viljanen, Henry Wuorila-Stenberg and Seppo Väänänen

Translated with DeepL