HELSINKI.- An exhibition of works by Elga Sesemann opens the Ateneum’s new Modern Classics series of exhibitions. The exhibition, which covers Sesemann’s entire career, is the first comprehensive overview of her work. Independent and original, Sesemann was a reformist in modern-era art, drawing the attention of critics and the art public already with her first exhibitions.

Elga Sesemann’s (1922–2007) life story is an exceptional and interesting example of a professional woman artist making a career for herself in Finland. Sesemann and her family moved to Helsinki as evacuees from Vyborg during the Winter War. The artist’s very first solo exhibition in Helsinki, in 1945, immediately drew the attention of critics and the art audience. The young artist, then 23 years old, was a promising, original colourist, whose paintings were compared to those of Edvard Munch and Helene Schjerfbeck. Sesemann’s artistic oeuvre is extensive, and she enjoyed an active career, with her expression constantly evolving, until the mid-1990s.

In her art, Sesemann repeatedly returned to memories of her childhood and youth in Vyborg, as well as to her evacuation, which began after the outbreak of the Winter War. Her works deal with the impact of war, being forced to leave home, and having life disrupted. The artist’s personal experiences contribute to building a collective memory, enabling the exploration of questions about identity, existence and outsiderness. The works are also relatable in the context of the current state of the world.





Sesemann created expressive, semi-abstract paintings of people, landscapes and interiors. The atmosphere of the works reflects post-war desolation and melancholy. In the self-portraits and portraits, people have vacant looks in their eyes, partially or completely faded by the brush. The interiors and landscapes are built from memories, childhood experiences and dreamlike moments.

The exhibition period will feature approximately 80 of Sesemann’s works, half of which are from the Finnish National Gallery’s collections and the rest from other museum and private collections. The first presentation of the exhibition will feature approximately 50 works, of which paper-based works will be replaced with different works in the beginning of February 2027.

The exhibition is curated by the chief curator at the Ateneum, Anu Utriainen and will be accompanied by the publication of the first thematic biography of Elga Sesemann.

The new Modern Classics series of exhibitions presents 20th-century artists in three exhibition galleries on the first floor of the Ateneum. The collection the Ateneum is responsible for contains a wide range of modern art, which will get more visibility with the exhibition series. The exhibitions shown on the first floor are mainly put together from works in the Finnish National Gallery’s own collection.

The exhibition is part of the programme of the 2026 Helsinki Festival.