Tom of Finland receives largest ever museum show

21st April 2023, 3:07 pm

 

TOM OF FINLAND Untitled, 1980, Color pencil on paper, Tom of Finland Foundation Permanent Collection. © 1980 Tom of Finland Foundation.

 

The Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki, discusses the artist’s icon status and the challenges of presenting his work at a public institution.

 

Tom of Finland built a cult following with what he liked to call his “dirty drawings”.

His illustrations of muscular men in circulation-strangling clothing found an audience in the Gay community of the ’50s and ’60s, and went on to influence figures such as Freddie Mercury, Jean-Paul Gaultier, and Robert Mapplethorpe. Filmmaker John Waters and critic Camille Paglia both contributed to Taschen’s 666-page coffee table book Tom of Finland: XXL (2016).

Tom’s place in art history will be further cemented by the exhibition TOM OF FINLAND Bold Journey at the Finnish National Gallery, the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki, from 28th April to 29th October.

The overview of the artist’s work will include not just drawings but vitrines filled with personal effects and memorabilia and a VR experience of TOM House in Los Angeles, now the headquarters of Tom of Finland Foundation.

We spoke to museum director Leevi Haapala about the upcoming show.

 

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE BY SAM GASKIN

 

 

 

 


TOM OF FINLAND “Bold Journey”

28th Apr 2023 – 29th Oct 2023 @ All Day –           Viewing hours Tuesday–Friday 10a-8:30p Saturday 10a–6p Sunday 10a–5p Closed Monday   Showcasing the works and life story of Tom of Finland, one of the world’s best-known Finnish artists. Masculine beauty The characters in Tom of Finland’s drawings – lumberjacks, bikers, soldiers and policemen – exude vitality, joy and pride. Their […]

Published: 21st April 2023

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