Pressmeddelande -
Hanna Vihriälä’s Swedish Premiere at the Gothenburg Museum of Art
A bright yellow SUV and felines with wildly staring eyes. A sculptural flame filling the space with drifting smoke. A hammock woven from candy strings that offers comfort but cannot carry our weight. This spring, the Gothenburg Museum of Art presents the first solo exhibition in Sweden by acclaimed Finnish artist Hanna Vihriälä. Hanna Vihriälä. Same Moment of Pleasure opens on Saturday, 9 May 2026.
— Using plastic beads, candy, make-up, bronze and gravel, Hanna Vihriälä creates sculptures that surprise and unsettle our perceptions. Her meticulous craftsmanship – often involving thousands of hand-strung components – results in installations that are complex, playful, and sensorially engaging, says curator Johan Sjöström.
Born in Tampere in 1974, Vihriälä is best known for her monumental works in the civic space and is represented in collections including Kiasma and Amos Rex. In 2026, she received the prestigious Ars Fennica Prize, awarded by the public.
— For as long as I can remember, I have been drawn to the middle ground between sculpture, painting and graphic art. I am fascinated by the interplay between durability and fragility, says Hanna Vihriälä.
Sampled Works from the Museum’s Collection
The exhibition brings together celebrated earlier works alongside three newly produced large-format pieces created in dialogue with the museum’s collection. In Fire, Vihriälä has extracted and reimagined the fire from Nils Kreuger’s painting Spring Ploughing (1884), transforming it into an autonomous, shimmering smoke screen within the exhibition space.
— Rather than quoting art history, she distils its essential forces – light, movement and fire – and translates them into a contemporary, material-driven visual language, says Johan Sjöström.
The new work The Öland Road draws inspiration from Vera Nilsson’s Landscape, Öland (1926). Using sand and pigments from cosmetics, Vihriälä shapes a physical and psychological landscape directly on the gallery floor. In Comfort, she has woven a hammock from red candy strings, evoking memories of childhood trips to Sweden.
For me, candy is linked to both consolation and reward, but also to dependence and escape. Comfort invites you to rest, yet it cannot support you. It becomes an image of desire – of our longing to trust in what is ultimately unsustainable, continues Vihriälä.
Focus on Contemporary Women Artists
Over the past 15 years, the Gothenburg Museum of Art has consistently highlighted influential contemporary women artists, including Lee Bul, Sandra Mujinga, Monira Al Qadiri, and Chiharu Shiota.
— Our presentation of Hanna Vihriälä continues our long-term commitment to broadening the scope of art history and making space for practices that deepen and challenge our understanding of today’s society, says Patrik Steorn, Museum Director.
The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue featuring newly commissioned texts, among them new poetry by Sanna Karlström, one of Finland’s most celebrated poets.
Hanna Vihriälä. Same Moment of Pleasure runs from 9 May to 1 November 2026 at the Gothenburg Museum of Art.
Ämnen
Kategorier
Regioner
Göteborgs konstmuseum har en av norra Europas främsta konstsamlingar. Denna sträcker sig från 1400-talet fram till idag med betydande verk inom både nordisk och internationell konst. Förutom samlingen erbjuder museet utställningar, familjeaktiviteter, föreläsningar, workshops och visningar. Museet har en välsorterad museibutik. Samlingen omfattar omkring 70 000 verk och museet har ca 250 000 besökare årligen. Göteborgs konstmuseum är en del av Göteborgs Stads kulturförvaltning. Samfinansierat av Västra Götalandsregionen.
