Despite close neighborly ties, a common architectural past and a constant professional interest in Finnish novelties, this is the first time an exhibition of this scale is being held in St. Petersburg. Therefore, the seemingly well-known Finnish modernism has become a revelation for many again. Early drawings by Alvar Aalto and his peers, art glass by his friend and colleague Aino, living samples of furniture, graphics of the post-war generation, archival photographs and masterly executed wooden models - all this, collected in the new halls of the General Staff, made a strong and unexpectedly fresh impression.
Finland has become one of the few countries where the international style has become national in the full sense. He completed the search for self-identification begun by the Art Nouveau era, defining a unique, uniquely Finnish way of architecture. Of course, this is due to the peculiarities of the country's history: the historical styles were not native here, introduced, it was easy to part with them, and the bright path of progress drawn by the reformers became the “road to oneself”.
In a sense, Finnish modernism contradicted the logic of the Modern movement, which later led to the conflict of "fathers and children". The younger generation, who replaced Aalto and other "classics", yearned to get rid of the "remnants" of romanticism and the rudiments of non-functional meaning. His ideal was "sterile" minimalism and technocratic architecture. And yet, a unique national "plaque" lies at all stages of the development of Finnish modernism, right up to the present day, manifesting itself in calm practicality, unseen democracy, openness to nature, small scale, love for natural materials and high urban planning culture. The whole Finnish mentality has practically not accepted either postmodern trends or experiments in deconstruction: the country remains faithful to its own version of soft, organic, functional modernism.
The exhibition, organized in cooperation with the Finnish Institute and with the support of the Architecture Museum (Helsinki), the Design Museum (Helsinki) and the Alvar Aalto Museum (Jyväskylä), will run until January 31, 2016. It will be accompanied by an extensive educational program, including open meetings, lectures, master classes and discussions.
