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In the Architect’s Houses – Homes in the Work of Alvar Aalto.Elina Brotherus’s photo exhibition at Gallery Pallas
In the Architect’s Houses – Homes in the Work of Alvar Aalto.
Elina Brotherus’s photo exhibition from February 15 to March 14, 2025.
On February 14, 2025, at 6 pm, the Gallery Pallas in Tartu will open the exhibition “In the Architect’s Houses – Homes in the Work of Alvar Aalto” by internationally renowned Finnish photo artist Elina Brotherus.
The exhibition, organized by the Finnish Institute, features new and older photographs by Elina Brotherus of buildings designed by Alvar Aalto (1898-1976). Elina Brotherus’ works differ from traditional architectural photographs – Brotherus brings a human presence to the images, an imaginary inhabitant through whose eyes the viewer sees the space.
The new, previously unpublished photos were taken at the end of July 2024 in Villa Tammekann in Tartu, which is the only building designed by Aalto in the Baltic States. The house belongs to the University of Turku Foundation and has served as a research residence for the University of Turku in recent years, which is why Tartu residents have rarely had the opportunity to see its interior.
“The magnificently restored Villa Tammekann completes my series of Aalto homes, which now includes Estonia, in addition to France and Finland,” said Brotherus. “The fate of the Tammekann family made me think – after only seven years of living in the house, they had to flee in July 1940. In my photos, the July day is bright, but the evenings are getting darker. There is a sense of departure in the air.”
The exhibition is curated by artist Elina Brotherus and Virpi Näsänen, the procurator of the Finnish Institute, and one of the founders of the Forum Box Gallery in Helsinki. “I had long wanted to have Elina Brotherus to photograph Villa Tammekann. The University of Turku Foundation agreed with our proposal, and the year of Tartu as the Capital of Culture was just the right time for the photograph.”
In addition to Villa Tammekann, Pallas’s exhibition also features other works by the photographer of buildings designed by Aalto. Brotherus also performs for the students of the Pallas School of Art and guides them in a portfolio workshop. On Thursday, 13th of Feb 2025 starting at 1 pm, there will also be an opportunity to meet Elina Brotherus at the KK Pallas Library (Tähe tn 38b) and open the exhibition “The Most Beautiful Books in Finland 2023”. The event will be held in Finnish with translation into Estonian.
Interest in Alvar Aalto’s work is high in Estonia. Last September 14, the Finnish Institute, together with the teams of the Tartu and Oulu Capitals of Culture and the Factum Foundation in Madrid, organized a seven-hour video bridge between Tartu and Oulu. The venues were the Aaltosiilo in Oulu and the Villa Tammekann garden in Tartu – two very different works designed by Aalto from the same period. One of the speakers at the event was Elina Brotherus, who spoke about her work in Alvar Aalto buildings and also showed some of the photographs taken at Villa Tammekannus. Over a hundred Tartu residents took part in guided house tours during the day.
The Villa Tammekann residency and the creation and exhibition of new photographic works were made possible thanks to the joint project of the Finnish cultural and research institutes, pARTir, funded by NextGenerationEU. The support of the University of Turku Foundation has been crucial to the success of the project.
Additional information:
Duha Elsayed
Finnish Institute
duha.elsayed@)finst.ee
+372 5857 5638
Gallery Pallas
galerii@pallasart.ee
+372 7349 954
Tuesday-Saturday 11-18
Facebook.com/GaleriiPallas
Coverphoto: Elina Brotherus. Persiennes. 2024.
