Sauli Suomela’s glass-inspired works fill Gallery Sidetrack with layers of colour

Sauli Suomela: LAYERS / KERROKSET

Gallery Sidetrack, Salo Art Museum Roundhouse,
3 October 2026–3 January 2027

Gallery Sidetrack’s autumn exhibition features artworks by designer and visual artist Sauli Suomela that draw inspiration from colours and the characteristics of glass. As visitors move among the works, the atmosphere of the space changes constantly due to the translucency of the surfaces, the blending of colours, and reflections from the surroundings. The Layers / Kerrokset exhibition illustrates the connection between light and materiality in a fascinating way while also acting as a side story to the Visit the Light exhibition on display in the art museum’s main halls.

The starting point for Sauli Suomela’s color-based, primarily abstract expression is the study of materials and spaces. The pieces in the exhibition have been created by casting layers of epoxy resin coloured with pigments onto different types of reflective and transparent plates. The intensity of the colours indicates the number of work phases: the darker the colour, the more layers have been cast. In one of the pieces, titled Ring, the artist has also used 3D printing, and the crystal-like surface of the work has been created using repurposed pieces of broken glass.

The exhibition at the Salo Art Museum is a continuum of Suomela’s transition towards site-specific and installation-based artistic practice. The artworks in the exhibition invite the visitors to observe both themselves and their surroundings with curiosity: the transparency and reflectiveness of the surfaces constantly shape the appearance of the works, and when seen from different angles and directions, the colours of the works are blended and layered in new compositions at every glance.

The exhibition includes four series of works. Except for the work After the Rain (2024), the pieces are new and made specifically for this exhibition.

Sauli Suomela (born in 1969) is a Helsinki-based designer and visual artist working in the intersecting area of fine art painting, glass and installation art, as well as design. Suomela has graduated from the University of Art and Design Helsinki (currently called the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture) with a degree in design in 1998. Suomela has participated in numerous exhibitions both in Finland and abroad, and his works are included in the collections of the Finnish State Art Commission, the Finnish Glass Museum and Helsinki University Hospital (HUS). Suomela is the co-founder and Design Director of Pentagon Design, and he has been awarded many prestigious recognitions in the field of design, such as the title Designer of the year in 2010 (with Arni Aromaa), and the State Prize for Design in 2012.

The Finnish Heritage Agency and the Finnish Arts and Culture Agency have supported the exhibition and the artist’s work.

Events during the exhibition:

A meet and greet with artist Sauli Suomela will be held at the museum on 11 October from 2 to 3pm. The event is included in the museum admission fee.

Additional information:

The artist’s website at https://www.suomelas.com/

Press photos: https://salontaidemuseo.fi/media/