Markku Pennanen: Art from the Back Room

A pop-up exhibition of Markku Pennanen's work in connection with Espoo Cine presents his collage art, which was revealed only after his death. A house that no one had visited turned out to be full of art and compositions.

Markku created collages continuously over many years. He would cut the same image from several magazines and developed his own style, in which the same image repeats throughout the work. Some pieces use reproductions of magazine clippings. He could make dozens or even hundreds of versions of a single subject - and no outsider can know which is the final one, or if any is. Recurring motifs include strange figures, animals, folds, frames and breakthroughs through them, quiet humor and mystery.

Beyond collages, Markku's output encompasses oil paintings, sketches, drawings and photographs. He also composed, created animations and wrote poems and aphorisms characterized by associative wordplay. The art contains references to both classical art and pop art, and because Markku worked for himself, his output also touches on the outsider art tradition - even though he had attended academic art schools.

Art Space Mari, Kulttuuriaukio, Tapiola, Espoo. The exhibition is open 27.8.-20.9.2026: Thu-Fri 12.00-16.00 and Sat-Sun 14.00-18.00. Free admission.