13 May – 17 October 2021

Nordic Modernism and abstract expression were taking their first steps as early as the 1920s. They reached their highpoint in the decades following the Second World War, when they were boosted by faith in a new and better future, and by the idea of abstract art as a pure, universal, music-like language.

NEW BEAUTY presents a selection of Finnish and Nordic Modernist gems from the collection of the Norwegian Nicolai Tangen. The exhibition includes important works by classic figures such as Birger Carlstedt and Sam Vanni, but also lesser-known artists such as Outi Ikkala and Vladimir Kopteff. In the exhibition they meet Nordic friends and colleagues like Olle Baertling, Robert Jacobsen, Gunnar S. Gundersen and Irma Salo Jaeger.

The constantly growing Tangen Collection is the largest private accumulation of Nordic modern art in the world, with more than 4,500 works. It will have a permanent home in Kristiansand, Norway, when the new Kunstsilo museum opens in 2023. The exhibition in Hämeenlinna is curated by Timo Valjakka.