HOUSES OF TOVE JANSSON EXHIBITION IN PARIS SHOWS JANSSON’S WORK IN DIALOGUE WITH CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS

 Tove Jansson’s work is showcased in dialogue with contemporary artists at the Houses of Tove Jansson exhibition, which opens in Paris on September 29th. In this article, the curators share how they approached presenting Tove Jansson in a new light.

The Houses of Tove Jansson exhibition in Paris draws from Jansson’s entire oeuvre, spanning her 70-year-long career.  It also includes photographs and artworks made by Jansson’s family members.

First Tove Jansson exhibition in Paris

Houses of Tove Jansson presents her work in dialogue with works by a select group of contemporary artists. The group includes Carlotta Bailly-Borg, Anne Bourse, Vidya Gastaldon, Elmgreen & Dragset, Ida Ekblad, Emma Kohlmann, and Cerith Wyn Evans.

The curators Sini Rinne-Kanto and Tuukka Laurila from The Community have immersed themselves in Tove Jansson’s work for the past two years. They have also selected the contemporary works shown alongside Jansson’s and share their thoughts on the curation below.

Carlotta Bailly-Borg’s connection to Tove Jansson’s murals

When selecting the contemporary artists whose works are exhibited alongside Tove Jansson’s, the curators wanted to highlight Jansson’s life as an independent, queer modern woman.

“Many of the artists explore these themes in their work, interweaving other connections to Tove’s life, way of living, and bold choices she made during her lifetime.”

Several of the contemporary works in the show include references to the history of literature and painting.

The curators can easily see connections between the contemporary artists and Tove Jansson.

“For example, the painterly work of French artist Carlotta Bailly-Borg often features marginal, genderless characters that remind us of the Moomins. Her work lingers between abstraction and figurative language, occasionally flirting with surrealism, as did Tove’s painterly influences. She has recently worked on a large-scale mural painting, as seen on the wall of the Pernod Ricard Foundation in Paris, which connects her with Tove’s practice when she worked on public commissions and did large-scale murals after World War II.”……….

https://tovejansson.com/houses-of-tove-jansson-utstallning-paris/