Welcome to the Gallen-Kallela, Klimt & Wien exhibition press conference on Wednesday 24 September 2025, at 10:15

Press conference on Wednesday 24 September at 10:15 – also online

A press conference for the exhibition will be held in the Ateneum Hall starting at 10:15. The doors of the Ateneum will open at 10:00. The exhibition will be open for preview on the third floor of the museum until 13:00. You can also follow the press conference online.

The exhibition will be discussed by the exhibition curator Anu Utriainen and director Anna-Maria von Bonsdorff (Ateneum Art Museum) with Arnika Groenewald-Schmidt, PhD (Belvedere). 
 
The event will be partly in Finnish and partly in English.

Please register for the event by Tuesday 23 September 2025. Click this link to register.

See directions on how to get here. 

You can also follow the press conference online 

To join the press conference online, click this link. You can join from 10:00, and the press conference will start at 10:15. During the event, you can ask questions using the chat function. To join the meeting using a mobile device, you need to download the Teams application. When using a computer, you can also join using just a browser. When using a browser, we recommend using the latest version of Chrome or Edge.  

More information:
Communications Officer Reetta Haarajoki, tel. +358 50 476 6290, reetta.haarajoki[a]ateneum.fi
Communications manager Anna Kari, tel. +358 40 717 8185, anna.kari[a]ateneum.fi 

Images: press.ateneum.fi

Gallen-Kallela, Klimt & Wien exhibition to bring the pulse of Vienna to the Ateneum

The young artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries wanted to make a radical break away from what they considered to be outdated art ideals and move towards a new, freer conception of art. The most famous example of such a departure is the Vienna Secession, which was founded in 1897 under the direction of Gustav Klimt. 

The Gallen-Kallela, Klimt & Wien exhibition will present artists with whom Akseli Gallen-Kallela collaborated and in whose exhibitions he participated. At the beginning of the 20th century, Vienna was a pulsating hub of new ideas, styles and international influences, attracting artists from various fields all over Europe. The efforts of these artists to reform art and the world of art are highlighted in the exhibition, which will feature both modern art and design. 

An expansive movement to develop new artistic identities and strive for a simplification of form

The main goal of the Secessionists was the equality of all art forms. Visual art, architecture, crafts, design and fashion were to represent a changed and modern world. The Secessionists were united by the development of a new identity and way of life, as well as an interest in large public works of art and the depiction of beauty. Secessionism was an expansive but not unified art movement. Rather, it incorporated a broad array of styles and a striving for both stylisation and simplification. 

Akseli Gallen-Kallela focused on Finnish subject matter, but he developed his expression in close interaction with international modernists. One of these was Koloman Moser, who shared Gallen-Kallela’s interest in the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk and the idea of equality between different art forms. Gallen-Kallela worked in Central Europe from 1895 to 1908, and participated in exhibitions presenting work by Secessionist groups in several cities in Germany, and twice in Vienna, in 1901 and 1904. 

Women working as artists and designers

Women could not become official members of the Vienna Secession, but they participated in exhibitions and played a significant role in the reform effort. The role of women as artists and designers was particularly important in the Wiener Werkstätte, an association of “artists and artisans”, which brought together art and everyday objects according to a comprehensive design philosophy. There will be a special section in the Gallen-Kallela, Klimt & Wien exhibition dedicated to the Wiener Werkstätte. 

In addition to visual art, the exhibition will include photography and design: everyday objects, jewellery and fashion, such as a reform dress by the fashion designer Emilie Flöge. The new shape of the reform dress freed women from the ideal of the wasp waist and the tightness of corsets. Flöge was an Austrian fashion designer and businesswoman, and the longest-standing companion of Gustav Klimt. 

The exhibition will feature works, for example, by the following artists and designers: Emilie Flöge, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Ferdinand Hodler, Josef Hoffmann, Gustav Klimt, Broncia Koller-Pinell, Max Kurzweil, Elena Luksch-Makowsky, Koloman Moser, Edvard Munch, and Egon Schiele. 

The Gallen-Kallela, Klimt & Wien exhibition will be realised in collaboration with the Belvedere art museum in Vienna. The exhibition is curated by the chief curator at the Ateneum, Anu Utriainen in cooperation with Arnika Groenewald-Schmidt, PhD (Belvedere).

There will be an exhibition catalogue published in Finnish, Swedish and English.

Gallen-Kallela, Klimt & Wien at the Ateneum, 26 September 2025–1 February 2026 

Audioguide for the Gallen-Kallela, Klimt & Wien Exhibition

We have selected 12 works from the Gallen-Kallela, Klimt & Wien exhibition for the audioguide, each accompanied by a presentation of about two minutes. You can purchase the audioguide for three euros via online ticket sales or at the ticket desk. Please bring your own mobile device to the exhibition.

Read more about the audioguide.

Opening hours and admission

Our opening hours will change on 26 September 2025

Mon closed | Tue 10–18 | Wed–Thu 10–20 | Fri 10–18 | Sat–Sun 10–17 |  

Admission fees  

Standard ticket at the ticket office €22 | Standard ticket online €20 | Concession ticket €12 | 18–24-year-olds €12 | Under 18-year-olds free of charge | Free admission with a Museum Card