Circus

Art Museum Poikilo is filled with lights, colours and the enchanting rhythm of the circus as glass artists Alma Jantunen and Johannes Rantasalo bring their exhibition to the museum’s meandering space. The Circus (Sirkus) comprises colours, humour, virtuosity, strangeness, drama and comedy. Its performers include weird beings from the deep, surprising visitors from outer space, the World’s Roundest Donkey and the Weakest Creature in the World.

The works of Jantunen and Rantasalo combine playfulness, precise craftsmanship and the bold use of materials. Colourful installations, sculptures and glass surfaces reflecting light transport the viewer to a circle of magic in the world of circus – to the heights of the trapeze, to the laughter of clowns and to the dizzying speed of the carousel. The exhibition brings life to wild characters from the circus, and alongside them you can see abstract works that play with the shapes and colours of glass.

”The circus used to offer safety and a way to survive for people who did not fit in. Spectators came to marvel at bearded ladies and exotic animals. The works made for this exhibition include neither endangered animals nor exploited fellow travellers. I hope visitors will leave this exhibition with a smile on their faces and the seeds of small ideas in their minds”, says Johannes Rantasalo.

The Exhibition pays homage to the spirit of circus – exultation, unexpectedness and spontaneity lie at its heart. The Circus by Jantunen and Rantasalo has room for many forms of expression. The artists’ styles differ from each other, offering the visitor various perspectives on the theme.

Speed, a sense of danger, smoke and sweat can also be found in the glass studio where the works are created. The exhibition is complemented by filmmaker Kalle Raittila’s film on the glassblowing process, which reveals how the hot, glowing mass is shaped in the artists’ hands into material for light and movement. The film can be seen at Kino-Poikilo for the duration of the exhibition.

The artists’ work and the exhibition have been supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Finnish Heritage Agency and the Pirkanmaa Film Centre (Pirkanmaan Elokuvakeskus).

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Alma Jantunen, Thoughts, detail, 2017, glass. Photo Alma Jantunen.