The 31st summer exhibition by Onoma, the cooperative of artisans, designers, and artists in Fiskars, explores the theme of Utopia. Visual artist and curator Anna Ruth, based in Jyväskylä, has been invited to curate this year’s exhibition.

The exhibition is spread across two distinct spaces, housed in the two halls of Fiskars’ former Copper Smithy – the White Hall and the Black Hall. In the White Hall, the emphasis is on building, craftsmanship, and design. The area is divided into smaller, more intimate sections using partitions, offering visitors a chance to slow down and engage closely with each piece. Each work tells its own story, inviting reflection. In one of the sections, two artists’ works enter into a dialogue — exploring themes of sorrow and the emergence of new beginnings.

With all the senses

In UTOPIA, art is meant to be experienced with all the senses – including touch and hands-on interaction. Rudi Merz’s sleek, minimalist chairs defy expectations: while they may appear delicate and lightweight, they offer a surprising sense of stability when sat on. As Merz explains, a chair feels secure not because of how it looks, but because it supports the sit bones properly – no matter how slender its design.

In one of the corners of the White Hall, a hidden gem awaits discovery. An old cigarette vending machine dispenses pocket-sized books – ranging from notebooks to poetry collections – in exchange for a quarter coin. Coins can be purchased at the exhibition’s ticket counter.

Even the tools and the process itself are part of the art

The exhibition offers more than just the finished artworks – tools, sketches, blueprints, and various stages of the creative process are highlighted as integral parts of the whole. Next to a spruce wood house model, designed by Timo Mikkonen and built together with Kari Virtanen, Mikkonen’s meticulously drawn architectural plans are on display. “This is Timo’s utopia,” says Virtanen about the piece Arkipelago Utopia. The drawings form a work in their own right, enhancing the serene atmosphere surrounding the model.

In Anna Ulff’s work, neither the process nor the tools are visible—instead, there are empty toolboxes meant for the utopian tools of the future. Visitors to the exhibition are invited to fill the boxes with their imagination—what kinds of tools might be inside, and what would they be used for in a utopia?

Large, angular works at the center, surrounded by the organic

In the second room, the Black Hall, the exhibition transports visitors into a world of abstract concepts, moods, and dreams. Curator Anna Ruth explains how the large industrial space has been filled with angular shapes at its center, while natural motifs—such as flowers and animal figures—spread outward, extending all the way to the walls.

The exhibition’s largest and most striking piece is Wally Dion’s textile installation Uncommon Valor, which hangs from the ceiling. The image of a skull, made from translucent and colorful fabric pieces combined with a copper pipe structure, appears to glow as sunlight filters through spectral screens on the windows. This beautiful work tells a powerful story — one of death and violence, and the displacement of Indigenous peoples in the pursuit of a utopia.

In the center of the room stands a silk-covered teahouse inviting visitors to rest and reflect. Around it, you can find, among other things, Viivi Varesvuo’s ceramic forest creatures displayed on the windowsill, as well as Piitu Nykopp’s work “Parsittu paratiisi“, which features 22 imaginative, oversized flowers.

The magic of the forest

On the slope behind the Copper Smithy, visitors are met with a mysterious atmosphere. The trees are adorned with animal skulls and colorful ribbons, which, according to artist Reetta Ranta, symbolize a reverence for both the past and the future. The question arises – who is worshipping, and who is being worshipped? The artwork is a tribute to the forest and its sacred trees.

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Utopia exhibition: 15.6.-31.8.2025, Fiskars Copper Smithy and its surroundings.
Open: Mon-Sun 11-18.
Tickets: 12€ / 8€ / Museum Card / Smartum / ePassi
Work group: Anna Ruth, curator / Antti Yli-Tepsa, architect / Lulu Halme, graphics/ Matleena Kalajoki, Risto Musta & Kati Sointukangas, production.