OLA KOLEHMAINEN The art of looking and seeing
7 September – 21 December 2024
Visits and guided tours are possible every Saturday between 12:00 and 18:00.
Curated by Dr. Susanna Pettersson
OPENING 7 September 2024, 3-8 pm
Special opening times during BERLIN ART WEEK
11 – 15 September 2024, 12 -6 pm
Ola Kolehmainen presents at Salon Dahlmann a collection of new works that focus on the art of looking and seeing. The works are displayed in a subtle dialogue with works from the Miettinen collection.
Kolehmainen has been exploring numerous years museums and archives both as architectural sites and shells for collections. He is in a process of creating a memory theatre of our own time: an in-depth journey to the history of science, art, experiments and experiences. Kolehmainen presents places, spaces, people and works that open up new routes into the history of Western thought.
At Salon Dahlmann the exhibition focuses on certain key themes: the power of knowledge, the presentation of religion, architecture as theatre and politics, and collecting as an incarnation of curiosity. The topics for the works originate from museums in Berlin, Paris, Venice and Stockholm among others, and range from the antiquity to the 18th century.
The concept is based on the collaborative dialogue between artist Ola Kolehmainen and Dr. Susanna Pettersson, associate professor specialising in museum history and collections research, and their way to analyse both museums and works of art.
Ola Kolehmainen, born in Helsinki 1964, lives and works since 2005 in Berlin. Kolehmainen graduated from the University of Art and Design Helsinki in 1999. The Berlin-based artist is one of the leading figures in Finnish photography. His work is included in multiple international art institutions, foundations, and collections, from Germany and Spain to renowned Nordic museums such as the Malmö Art Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma.