Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art ( fi, Wäinö Aaltosen museo, sv, Wäinö Aaltonens museum) or WAM for short, is an art museum in central

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

dedicated especially to

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

. The museum is located on the east bank of the Aura River. The permanent exhibition is based on the art collection of the City of Turku, which includes a large collection of works by Finnish artist and sculptor

Wäinö Aaltonen Wäinö Valdemar Aaltonen (8 March 1894 – 30 May 1966) was a Finnish artist and sculptor. The Chambers Biographical Dictionary describes him as "one of the leading Finnish sculptors". He was born to a tailor in the village of Karinainen, Finla ...

. Temporary exhibitions focus on Finnish and international modern art.

Museum building

In March 1964, the City Council of Turku approved the proposal to establish a museum dedicated to Wäinö Aaltonen, and Aaltonen himself signed an agreement donating a basic collection to the proposed museum. Construction started in October 1965. The drawings for the

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

building were made by Wäinö Aaltonen's son, Matti Aaltonen, and his wife, Irma Aaltonen, and Wäinö also played an active part in the planning. The museum was officially opened on 17 September 1967. The exhibition rooms of WAM have been designed to meet modern requirements. The architecture of the rooms is clean and well-lit with wide windows and numerous skylights. Inside the museum there is also a cafeteria and a shop.

Collection

The permanent exhibition of WAM is based on the art collection of the City of Turku, which includes a large collection of works by Finnish artist and sculptor Wäinö Aaltonen. This collection is supplemented by acquisitions purchased with an annual grant. The number of acquisitions varies but, during the 21st century, approximately 60 new works of art have been acquired annually. The art is purchased from exhibitions, directly from artists, and sometimes from private collectors as well. On some special occasions, commission art is acquired from artists or artist groups by using the collection's investment funds. The focuses of the collection are on the art of the Turku area, the art of Wäinö Aaltonen, and on three-dimensional art. Art acquisitions and donations are decided on by the Museum Director and the Curator responsible for the collection with approval by the Cultural Board.

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waino Aaltonen Museum Of Art Culture in Turku Art museums and galleries in Finland Museums in Turku Modern art museums Art museums established in 1967 1967 establishments in Finland

Museum building

Collection

See also

External links