Gardens are taking over the Alvar Aalto Museum’s Gallery, April 15–May 29, 2016. The touring exhibition “Down the Stairs to a Shady Grove” presents a dozen Finnish sites where the architecture and the surrounding gardens form total works of art that express the zeitgeist.

MONREPOS PARK, VYBORG
Image: Taneli Eskola

In addition to well-known gardens, such as those of the Finnish president’s summer residence Kultaranta and the Monrepos Park in Vyborg, there are sites designed for housing projects and everyday use, such as the residential area at the Sunila pulp mill designed by Alvar Aalto and the Vallila district in Helsinki with large inner courtyards.

The Alvar Aalto Museum will augment the exhibition with lots of related events, including a “Miniature Garden” workshop and much more.

The exhibition has been produced by the Museum of Finnish Architecture (MFA). It has been curated by the head of archives at the MFA Elina Standertskjöld (Phil. Lic.) and researcher Julia Donner (PhD), with exhibition architecture by architect Hannele Grönlund. It has been supported by the Kone Foundation, Sigurd Frosterus Foundation, Maiju and Yrjö Rikala Garden Foundation and Durat.

Read more from the press release.

Down the Stairs to a Shady Grove
Dialogues in Finnish Garden Design and Architecture
April 15–May 29, 2016
Alvar Aalto Museum Gallery
Alvar Aallon katu 7, Jyväskylä, Finland
Open Tuesday-Sunday 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
www.alvaraalto.fi

The opening will be on Thursday, April 14, 2016, at 6 p.m. in the Alvar Aalto Museum Gallery.

Further information:
Mari Murtoniemi, Curator, Alvar Aalto Foundation, mari.murtoniemi(a)alvaraalto.fi,
tel. +358 (0)40 355 9162