Today, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art will open “Seeing Silence: The Paintings of Helene Schjerfbeck,” a highly anticipated retrospective dedicated to the works of one of the most beloved Finnish painters. It will be the first major U.S. exhibition of the artist’s repertoire and features more than 60 works. Schjerfbeck, through her particular approach to minimal yet radical (and emotional) expression, pioneered what is now received as Nordic modernism.
In conjunction with Schjerfbeck’s breakthrough exhibition, composed of self-portraits and still lifes, the Finnish Design Shop (the largest online platform for Nordic design) has developed a limited-edition Tones of Modernism collection featuring both furniture and interior objects. The collection assembles five prestigious Finnish design brands influenced by the work of Schjerfbeck: Artek, Iittala, Lapuan Kankurit, Nikari, and the natural scent house Hetkinen.
“We wanted to translate Schjerfbeck’s quiet sensitivity into pieces that feel meaningful in everyday life,” Finnish Design Shop’s CEO, Noora Tirkkonen, tells Surface. “For us, making Finnish design accessible should never mean turning it into something superficial. This collaboration lets us bring art and design a little closer together.” The painter’s almost abstract compositions shifted Finland´s style from a classical national-romantic stasis into the golden age of modernism—and shaped the future of Finland’s aesthetic identity in the process.
“For Finnish design, this moment is meaningful. Seeing Schjerfbeck at The Met is a reminder that our artistic heritage carries a quiet strength that resonates far beyond our borders,” Tirkkonen continues. “We wanted the collection to reflect that same sense of integrity.” The U.S. has been the second strongest market for the Finnish Design Shop, a recognition of the interwoven nature of beauty and purpose. “Finnish design is grounded in sincerity, functionality, and a deep respect for nature,” Tirkkonen concludes. “Those same principles guided the choices we made for this collection.”
