Tove Jansson: Paradise

HAM Helsinki Art Museum will take audiences on a journey into Tove Jansson’s visions of paradise. The exhibition takes an in-depth look at Jansson’s public paintings, through which she shared joy, beauty and windows into magical worlds of storytelling. 

Tove Jansson: Paradise offers an unprecedented exploration of the public paintings by one of Finland’s most beloved artists, Tove Jansson (1914–2001). Spanning 1,300 square meters, the exhibition features more than 180 works of art and objects, including an array of hand-drawn sketches that have never been seen by the public before.

Among the highlights are six life-sized charcoal studies for Jansson’s large-scale murals, which provide an intimate look into her creative process. These previously unseen sketches were unrolled specifically for this exhibition. The exhibition spans a wide array of mediums, from oil paintings and pencil sketches to book cover illustrations—such as the iconic Summer Book—as well as unique works on glass, wood and plywood.

In addition to the artworks, the exhibition includes photographs, animations, film presentations, and recently documented footage. Visitors will also get the chance to see an abbreviated version of the newly released documentary about Jansson’s altarpiece in Teuva Church, Tove Jansson and the Ten Virgins. The exhibition invites viewers into Jansson’s world, showcasing her extraordinary ability to merge fantasy with reality in both public and private spaces.

An in-depth look into Jansson’s public art
Filling two floors of the museum, the exhibition focuses on the ambitious commissions Jansson completed for public venues during the 1940s and 1950s. It introduces her lesser-known mural output in its entirety, from smaller decorative paintings to her largest monumental frescoes. Jansson’s public paintings provide a glimpse into the boundless depths of her imagination and the idyllic worlds of fantasy that offered the artist an escape from the horrors of war.

Jansson’s public paintings date from the postwar reconstruction period. Most of them were commissioned for buildings in her hometown, Helsinki, such as the Tullinpuomi building, the Apollonkatu girls’ school, the Strömberg factory, the Domus Academica student dormitory, the children’s ward at Aurora hospital, and the Helsinki City Hall basement restaurant, which opened as a formal reception venue in 1947.

Tove Jansson painted her labour-intensive public murals during a busy career peak that coincided with her first solo exhibitions at Bäcksbacka’s Konstsalongen gallery and the publication of her first Moomin books. The exhibition sheds light on Jansson’s wartime reality through descriptions of Helsinki and images of the city. It also presents the art and illustrations that inspired her to become a mural painter. Further glimpses into her inner life are offered by a selection of paintings from the Leonard and Katarina Bäcksbacka collection as well as photographs and videos.

Commemorating 80 years of the Moomins
The exhibition additionally celebrates 80 years of the Moomins. In 2025, eight decades will have passed since the 1945 publication of Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen (The Moomins and the Great Flood). Jansson embedded Moomin characters as her trademark in many of her murals, and some even feature the Moomins as their gleeful main protagonists.

Richly illustrated exhibition catalogue
The Paradise exhibition will be accompanied by a richly illustrated eponymous publication. The book, edited by HAM’s curator Heli Harni and freelance author Tuija Huovinen, will offer a comprehensive overview of the artist’s lesser-known mural oeuvre and related preparatory sketches, complete with images of artworks and additional photographs.

The exhibition is produced in collaboration with Moomin Characters Ltd.

Media contact at HAM:  Marketing Communications Manager Maarit Kivistö, maarit.kivisto@hamhelsinki.fi, T +358 40 485 5687

More images here.