Vilho Lampi: The Great Expanse was on display on the second floor of the Oulu Art Museum from 13 November 2021 to 28 August 2022.  The exhibition included 73 works, 47 of which were from the museum’s own collection. The Oulu Art Museum has the largest collection of Vilho Lampi’s works in Finland, currently comprising 80 works.

We would like to thank the individuals and art museums who have lent their works to the exhibition: National Gallery / Ateneum Art Museum (6 works), Kaleva Media (3), Ostrobothnian Museum / Karl Hedman Collection (2), Tampere Art Museum (2), Föreningen Konstsamfundet Collections / Amos Rex (1), Turku Art Museum (1), HAM (1), Liminka Municipality / Vilho Lampi Museum (1) and three private collections (9).

Curated by assistant curator Tarja Kekäläinen, the exhibition presented Lampi’s most important works from the 1920s and 1930s. An interesting addition to the exhibition was the Oulu City Theatre’s play Dance on the Bridge (Siltatanssit), which was performed alongside the works at the Art Museum. Lampi’s charismatic artistic personality, the individuality and often highly personal nature of his works have fascinated writers and theatre-makers alike.

Vilho Lampi (1898–1936), born in Oulu, was a painter from Liminka, Finland. In a career that spanned some 15 years, he experimented with many styles of painting, from bold expressionism to neoclassicism and the delicate pointillism of his last works.

After graduating from the drawing school of the Finnish Art Association in the spring of 1924, Vilho Lampi divided his life between his artistic work and the duties of his home farm, Matinlauri in Liminka. Lampi never owned the farm, but took part in its work. In his home village he painted self-portraits, portraits of neighbours and acquaintances of different ages, house interiors, village views and lake landscapes.

Explore the online exhibition

The exhibition starts in the upstairs lobby. On the left, by the glass door, you will find a green dot, which will take you to the exhibition tour by museum assistant Valtteri Moilanen. The purple dot will take you to the main exhibition of the Vilho Lampi Museum in Liminka. Matterport photography and editing: Mika Friman.

Click here to explore the online exhibition.

You can also see a preview of the exhibition below.

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