5.9.–27.9.2025. September brings together two separate exhibitions, which are united by reflections on the connection with nature, the importance of observation and bringing out soft values. Paula Suominen's large-scale charcoal drawings and Leena Hyttinen's ceramics build a parallel space where sensuality and metaphor engage in dialogue.

Paula Suominen: Mermaid and other drawings. Hall and Corner Room.

Water har been Paula’s favourite theme in her works. Natural water has carried her to mythical themes, the life-sustaining powers of water, themes of feminity and the continuity of generations. She tells that through the connection with nature, she realizes the meanings of existence and understands more broadly the way nature works and survives, as well as the connection between species. A connection to nature is also a connection to one's own body, ancestors, endangered species and sacred places.

In Paula Suominen's large-scale charcoal drawings, many things are drawn on paper and canvas as metaphors. She says she has drawn with charcoal for as long as she can remember. The rough physicality and expressive power of charcoal gives the artist the opportunity to create a variety of works; with it, one can "write by drawing everything". Carbon is an element found everywhere in nature. Carbon is strongly involved in both the natural cycle and climate change, transformed or ground.

Paula Suominen lives and works in Turku and Posio. She works extensively in the field of visual arts, participating in community, environmental and public art projects (ceramic mosaics). Suominen has worked with Pentik on the fabric pattern  Kesän Valo (Summer Light), 2021. The Hehku (Glow) fabric pattern came for the Pentik collection in 2023. The cooperation on the outdoor design of the artmosaic at Pentik in Posio began in 2007.

Leena Hyttinen: VillisSirkka Room.

The exhibition combines ceramics with soft fiber materials. Its central theme is to give space to softer values in life and highlight the importance of sensory experiences and observations – thus creating bridges and moments of pause in a polarizing world. The playfully rounded shapes and touch-inviting ceramic surfaces of the works are paired with soft wool and other fiber materials. In some of the works, wild clay from Kainuu and Taivalkoski has been used both in the structure and surface decoration.

Leena Hyttinen is a ceramic artist living in Tampere and working in Nokia. Her artistic work is largely based on the observation of both the environment we live in and our personal inner worlds. In her previous works, she has explored themes such as landscapes and their perception by the viewer-experiencer, aiming to depict the fleeting nature and constant movement of perception. Recently, Hyttinen has been exploring various forms of contacts and networks – both as concepts and within the structures of her works – and has played with contrasts between different material combinations.