Ryijys, glass and ceramics classics, and new acquisitions celebrate the second anniversary of Collection Kakkonen at EMMA

EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art has enriched its offerings with art and design selections of significant cultural and historical value, drawn from the collection of Finnish businessman and notable collector Kyösti Kakkonen. In addition to the Collection Kakkonen’s celebrated glass and ceramic art, the exhibition now includes ryijy textiles created by prominent designers from the 1930s to the 1980s. The collection of 15 ryijys will be displayed in the dedicated Ryijy Gallery and integrated into other parts of the exhibition. The updated display presents ryijys as artworks imbued with layers of cultural and historical meaning, featuring creations by Toini Muona, Ritva Puotila, and Uhra-Beata Simberg-Ehrström, among others.

The legacy of Finnish design is further explored through the works of six pivotal artists and educators. The Teachers of Design section showcases works by Arttu Brummer, Elsa Elenius, Alfred William Finch, Kaj Franck, Kyllikki Salmenhaara, and Timo Sarpaneva. These influential and distinctive figures made significant contributions to Finnish design, shaping the development of applied arts and design education.

In addition to these new sections, some other parts of the exhibition have been updated with changes to the artworks on display. Among the highlights are two new acquisitions: Santtu Mustonen’s Loose Order of Events (2023), which combines glass and video, and Renata Schirm’s commissioned glass work Myriad, (The Stars I Cannot See) (2024), which offers a contemporary commentary on ryijy art. With these updates, the Collection Kakkonen exhibition now showcases the works of nearly 50 artists and designers, tracing Finnish material-based art and exceptional design expertise from early modernism to the present day. 

Collection Kakkonen is based on Kyösti Kakkonen’s long-term and continuously expanding deposit of one of Finland’s most significant art and design collections. The exhibition was created in collaboration with Kakkonen, EMMA, and the City of Espoo. It opened to the public in November 2022 in a specially designed 1,000m² space at the WeeGee Exhibition Centre. The Collection Kakkonen exhibition is curated by EMMA’s Curator of Collections, Aura Vilkuna, and this display marks the first update since its initial launch.