Exhibition: Bedchamber Music – Markku Pennanen

23.8. – 20.9. | Art Space Mari, Kulttuuriaukio, Tapiola

As part of Espoo Ciné, a pop-up exhibition by Markku Pennanen, Peräkamarimusiikkia (“Bedchamber Music”), presents the artist’s distinctive body of work. The exhibition opens on 23 August at 5 pm — welcome!

Markku’s art draws on references to both classical art and, for example, Pop Art. Because Markku created primarily for himself, his work also has affinities with the DIY and Outsider Art tradition, although he had studied at academic art schools. For the final 34 years of his life, Markku lived in Riihimäki, withdrawn from the world in a house he had designed himself. He died accidentally at the end of 2021. After his death, the house — which no one had visited — was found to be filled with art and musical compositions.

After her uncle’s death, Markku’s niece Karin Pennanen began making a film about him. Days of Wonder (Päivien lumo) premiered in November 2025 at the PÖFF Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, where it won the award for Best Documentary. In 2026, the film was the opening film of DocPoint and won the festival’s main award in the Finnish Competition. It was also awarded the Jury’s Special Prize at the Tampere Film Festival. The film will be released theatrically nationwide on 28 August. It was produced by Sonja Lindén (Avanton Productions).

Markku had never forbidden his art from being exhibited, but he seemed largely uninterested in having it displayed. For his day job, Markku delivered newspapers in the mornings. From leftover newspapers, he cut out images and assembled them into collages. This exhibition focuses on Markku’s collages, of which there are several hundred, perhaps even a thousand. He made collages continuously over many years. He might cut out the same image from several different newspapers, developing a distinctive collage style in which a single image would recur again and again. Markku Pennanen’s art is characterised by its diversity, experimentation, curiosity and playfulness.

Art Space Mari is a new pop-up art space in central Tapiola, located at Kulttuuriaukio in the Marimekkotalo building and run by the Espoo Artists’ Association (Espoon Kuvataiteilijat ry). It provides an accessible exhibition and event venue for artists and organisations from Espoo. The project launches in August 2026 and will run until January 2028.

The space is a flexible, free-to-use platform for exhibitions, events and spontaneous projects. Its central location in Tapiola makes it possible to reach a broad audience while bringing new and alternative forms of artistic activity to the area.

Opening hours:

Thu–Fri 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Sat–Sun 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm