The Dance of Colours: Finnish Modernist Art

The book accompanies the exhibition The Dance of Colours: Finnish Modernist Art at the Kadriorg Art Museum (04.03.‒20.08.2023).

Finnish Modernist art emerged in the early 20th century at a crossroads of two conflicting influences: the creation of romanticised national myths and symbols, and the Western avant-garde movements emphasising the individuality and autonomy of art and artists. The exhibition catalogue presents the works of Alvar Cawén, Väinö Kunnas, Jalmari Ruokokoski, Tyko Sallinen, Yrjö Ollila and other well-known Finnish Modernist painters of the first decades of the 20th century. They were rebels and explorers in the art scene of that time who sought to express the artist’s inner experiences and made their own creative choices instead of turning to the politically charged National Romantic style.

The project The Dance of Colours: Finnish Modernist Art continues the tradition of collaboration between Finnish museums and the Art Museum of Estonia. The exhibition and the catalogue are also significant in Finnish art history since they present materials located in the collections of the Art Museum of Estonia which have been relatively unknown to Finnish researchers for a long time. For example, the painting Red Dance, which is part of Väinö Kunnas’s legendary Dance series.