Finnish National Gallery opens exhibition on Nordic women and esotericism

The Ateneum Art Museum at the Finnish National Gallery is hosting a new exhibition titled Arcana Borealis, Northern Women and Esotericism, Euronews and Yahoo both reported. The show focuses on the relationship between spirit and matter, questions surrounding life after death, and the existence of the spirit world. The Latin words arcana and borealis translate to hidden knowledge and the north. [1][3]

Euronews reported that the exhibition is the first large museum show of its scale to examine how female artists across the Nordic region and Sápmi have engaged with esotericism, spirituality, and alternative systems. Meanwhile, the Irish Times reported on a separate exhibition featuring the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint at the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin. That exhibition includes delicate charcoal sketches, male nudes, portraits, and landscapes created in the 1880s. [1][2]

The Finnish National Gallery is the largest art museum institution in Finland. It comprises three main venues: the Ateneum art museum, the Kiasma contemporary art museum, and the Sinebrychoff Art Museum. [4]