Purkkapaketti (“packet of chewing gum”), a work of art by the Vantaa-based sculptor Juha Ojansivu, will be put on display at the Myyrmanni shopping centre until further notice. The sculpture will be placed in the shopping centre’s central square.
Made in 1974, the sculpture is now part of the collection of Vantaa Art Museum. Juha Ojansivu is known for depicting everyday matters and objects in the spirit of pop art. The most famous of his works is Suudelma (“the kiss”), which portrays two matches leaning against each other. Suudelma is on display at Helsinki Airport.
The collaboration was originally the idea of Elena Stenholm, the Shopping Centre Manager for Myyrmanni.
“Vantaa Museum of Art is situated in the Myyrmäki House, right next to the Myyrmanni shopping centre, which is why it’s particularly exciting that we’re about to start this new kind of collaboration with the museum. Art brings joy to everyday life, and the strong customer flows in the shopping centre will literally bring Juha Ojansivu’s piece within everyone’s reach”, explains Elena Stenholm, Shopping Centre Manager at Citycon, which owns Myyrmanni.
“Placing Juha Ojansivu’s Purkkapaketti sculpture in Myyrmanni’s central square is very important in raising the visibility of the collection and exhibitions of Vantaa Art Museum. It also makes Vantaa-based culture and art better known as a whole. It is wonderful that such an important operator proposes placing art in its premises”, says Kati Huovinmaa, Chief Curator at Vantaa Art Museum.
Vantaa Art Museum manages the art collections owned by the City of Vantaa. The collections comprise about 10,000 works, which include the museum’s extensive collections of drawings. Pieces of the growing art collection are placed in the city’s offices and institutes, such as libraries and schools. Vantaa Art Museum hosts changing modern-art exhibitions.
For further details, please contact:
Citycon Finland: Elena Stenholm, Shopping Centre Manager, tel. +358 40 834 2012, elena.stenholm@citycon.fi
Vantaa Art Museum: Kati Huovinmaa, Chief Curator, tel. +358 50 312 1946, kati.huovinmaa@vantaa.fi