Tove Jansson – Paradise

Tove Jansson – Paradise marks the first occasion that Tove Jansson’s (1914-2001) public paintings are featured collectively in one exhibition. It provides an overview of murals that Jansson painted on commission in public spaces during the 1940s and 1950s. The exhibition presents her lesser-known work in the mural genre in its entirety, from her smallest decorative paintings to her monumental frescoes. Highlights include six large charcoal drawings that offer rare insights into her creative process. The sketches were found in Jansson’s studio and have never before been shown to the public. 

Jansson’s public murals offer a glimpse into the boundless depths of her rich imagination. They also reflect her dreamy longing for an idyllic escape from the horrors of war. 

“I’ve never dreamt and planned as much as I have in these past few years. Not as a game – but as an absolute necessity,” wrote Jansson in a letter to her friend Eva Konikoff in October 1944.

Most of Jansson’s public murals were painted during the post-war reconstruction era, and many were located in buildings intended for children or young students, such as a private kindergarten in Kotka (1949), Kotka Vocational School (1952), and the Kiila Swedish-language elementary school in Karjaa (1953). Many are found in contexts of relaxation and revelry, such as Hotel Seurahuone in Hamina (1952), the staff canteen at the Strömberg factory (1945), the City of Helsinki’s Kaupunginkellari restaurant (1947) and the staff canteen of the Nordic Union Bank (today Nordea) (1954).   

Jansson painted her labour-intensive public murals during an intense peak of creativity that coincided with her first solo exhibitions at Bäcksbacka’s Konstsalongen Art Gallery and the launch of her first Moomin books. Background information on her life and times is provided through illustrations of wartime Helsinki, along with artworks and illustrations that inspired her mural style. 

Further insights into her inner world are offered by a selection of works from HAM’s Leonard and Katarina Bäcksbacka Collection, as well as photographs, videos and a recently completed documentary about Jansson’s altarpiece in Teuva Church. The documentary will be screened on Saturday afternoons and Sundays. The exhibition architecture, designed by Linda Bergroth, emphasizes Jansson’s creative process while enhancing the monumental scale of her public works.

The exhibition celebrates 80 years of the Moomins, as next year marks the 80^th anniversary of the publication of Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen (The Moomins and the Great Flood). Moomin characters appear as Jansson’s trademark in many of her murals, sometimes also romping merrily as the gleeful main protagonists. 

The Paradise exhibition will be accompanied by an eponymous 170-page book published in three languages. Comprising an extensive collection of images of artworks along with additional photographs, the richly illustrated volume provides a comprehensive introduction to the artist’s lesser-known achievements in the mural genre. The publication was edited by the curator, Heli Harni, and freelance writer Tuija Huovinen, with articles contributed by Harni herself, Docent Sirke Happonen, PhD, Asta Kihlman, PhD, and Johanna Ruohonen, PhD. 

The exhibition is produced in collaboration with Moomin Characters Ltd.

Read more about Tove Jansson at tovejansson.com.