Elga Sesemann to open the Ateneum’s new Modern Classics series of exhibitions

Press briefing on Thursday 13 August – please read the updated instructions

The exhibition press briefing will be held in the exhibition galleries on the first floor of Ateneum. Please register for the event by Tuesday 11 August.
 
We are renewing our press briefings: below you will find registration instructions and the schedule for the curator-guided tours. 

During the press briefing, the exhibition’s curator, Ateneum curator Anu Utriainen, and Ateneum Museum Director Anna-Maria von Bonsdorff will present the new exhibition series and its first artist. The language of the event 
is Finnish. Please register for a tour below. 

The first tour at 10:15–10:40 is intended for media representatives only. Register here. 

The second tour at 11:15–11:40 is intended for bloggers, online publishers and other stakeholders. Register here. 

Ateneum’s doors will open at 10 for the first group. The exhibition on the museum’s first floor can be visited until 12.

See directions on how to get here.

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

Elga Sesemann to open the Ateneum’s new Modern Classics series of exhibitions

Modern Classics: Elga Sesemann 18 August 2026–8 August 2027 

The new Modern Classics series of exhibitions presents 20th-century artists in three exhibition galleries on the first floor of the Ateneum. The collection the Ateneum is responsible for contains a wide range of modern art, which will get more visibility with the exhibition series. The exhibitions shown on the first floor are mainly put together from works in the Finnish National Gallery’s own collection. 

Elga Sesemann’s (1922–2007) life story is an exceptional and interesting example of a professional woman artist making a career for herself in Finland. Sesemann and her family moved to Helsinki as evacuees from Vyborg during the Winter War. The artist’s very first solo exhibition in Helsinki, in 1945, immediately drew the attention of critics and the art audience. The young artist, then 23 years old, was a promising, original colourist, whose paintings were compared to those of Edvard Munch and Helene Schjerfbeck. Sesemann’s artistic oeuvre is extensive, and she enjoyed an active career, with her expression constantly evolving, until the mid-1990s. 

Art motivated by the evacuee experience 

In her art, Sesemann repeatedly returned to memories of her childhood and youth in Vyborg, as well as to her evacuation, which began after the outbreak of the Winter War. Her works deal with the impact of war, being forced to leave home, and having life disrupted. The artist’s personal experiences contribute to building a collective memory, enabling the exploration of questions about identity, existence and outsiderness. The works are also relatable in the context of the current state of the world. 

Sesemann created expressive, semi-abstract paintings of people, landscapes and interiors. The atmosphere of the works reflects post-war desolation and melancholy. In the self-portraits and portraits, people have vacant looks in their eyes, partially or completely faded by the brush. The interiors and landscapes are built from memories, childhood experiences and dreamlike moments. 

Sesemann trod her own path in life and art 

As an artist, Sesemann was independent, and she was not interested in networking in the Helsinki art circles. She did not follow trends in her art but focused on creating paintings of her own life stages, making her own artistic decisions. Sesemann dropped out of both the Fine Arts Academy of Finland and the Free Art School, where she felt that the teachers were controlling her work too much. In the late 1940s, she moved out of the Greater Helsinki area to Ruovesi with her husband Seppo Näätänen. 

Her husband’s illness and death, in 1964, changed Sesemann’s artistic expression. Her work became filled with mourning, angels and surreal references. The colour palette of her works changed from previously strong greens and yellows to muted dark and grey shades. After Näätänen’s death, Sesemann returned to Helsinki, where she lived in her sister’s flat until her death in 2007. 

The exhibition positions Sesemann within the history of Finnish modern art 

Sesemann deserves a place in the history of modern art, and the public has been hoping to see an exhibition of the artist’s work at the Ateneum. The artist participated in almost one hundred exhibitions during her life, but only in recent years has her work enjoyed a resurgence in art research and exhibitions. The Modern Classics exhibition will feature approximately 80 of Sesemann’s works, half of which are from the Finnish National Gallery’s collections and the rest from other museum and private collections. 

The Modern Classics: Elga Sesemann exhibition is curated by the chief curator at the Ateneum, Anu Utriainen. The exhibition will be accompanied by the publication of the first thematic biography of Elga Sesemann, including selected works. 

The exhibition is part of the programme of the 2026 Helsinki Festival. 

Ateneum Art Museum 

Opening hours 

Mon closed | Tue 10–18 | Wed–Thu 10–20 | Fri 10–18 | Sat–Sun 10–17 
From 1 July to 31 August 2026, the Ateneum will also be open on Mondays, from 11:00 to 17:00.  

Admission fees 

Standard ticket at the ticket office €23 | Standard ticket online €21 | Concession ticket €13 | 18–24-year-olds €13 | Under 18-year-olds free of charge | Free admission with a Museum Card