Visiting the Museum of artist Reidar Särestöniemi in Lapland, Finland
Visiting the Särestöniemi Museum for the second time since moving to Finland was such a treat!
Located in Kaukonen, Kittilä, in the heart of Lapland, this museum is dedicated to the works of Reidar Särestöniemi (1925–1981), one of Finland’s most cherished Lappish artists. This year, the museum is celebrating Reidar’s 100th anniversary with special birthday exhibitions.
Set on the artist’s family farmland, the museum lies in a remote spot by the Ounasjoki River. It includes his childhood home, a small log cabin built in the 19th century, as well as his atelier and art gallery—both log buildings constructed in the 1970s. The gallery even features a swimming pool and sauna… of course! With nearly 500 works of art by Särestöniemi, it’s a true treasure trove. (Scroll down to see some of his artwork!)
Rarely have I felt such a deep sense of peace and tranquility in a place.
Omakuva’ / Self Portrait’ 1960. Öljy kankaalle / oil on canvas
A blanket of snow covered the landscape, absorbing the sound… We pottered around Särestöniemi’s childhood home, filled with quirks, drawings and curiosities, feeling the history. We felt incredibly lucky to stumble upon an art workshop being held in the atelier at the top of the hill, before finally immersing ourselves in his colorful work at the art gallery. It was a wonderful escape into both art and nature.
It was so lovely to sit at the table with chalk pastels and paper, receiving gentle guidance, all while being surrounded by Särestöniemi’s works—and the soothing sound of a piano playing softly in the background, bliss!
"It's really time to wake up and let the great nature live without doing violence to it."
- Särestöniemi’s impassioned foreword to the Tokyo exhibition catalog in 1980
During our last visit to the Särestöniemi Museum in 2020, we were fortunate to experience the gallery’s main exhibition celebrating Reidar Särestöniemi’s 95th anniversary: The Last Waste – Emergency for Arctic Nature.
As explained on the museum's website, the exhibition featured works in which Särestöniemi took a strong stand for nature conservation. The artist deeply identified with nature; he saw himself as both the rugged, red-bearded "tough guy" and as the lynx rejoicing in spring, or the exhausted, endangered wolf. As he put it: "I somehow identify myself with these landscapes, with the arts, with people, and nature." Särestöniemi studied nature closely, yet also reflected on his own place within it. He wanted to tell the story of what was happening to the environment in his time: "There are many things about drowning, about nature and changing it with violence. - I try to talk to people about how animals feel when they have to leave the path of the flood basin. I'm talking about what's happening right here, at this time. For this is my time and place.”
This powerful message resonates even more strongly today, making Reidar Särestöniemi's art and his storytelling about climate change not only relevant but urgent. The full article is well worth reading for a deeper understanding of his commitment to raising awareness about the environmental challenges of his time—and ours.
Text taken from‘Reidar Särestöniemi’ by Eeli Aalto (1976) goes on to describe Säresöniemi -
“His life and art are closely connected with the environment and the wonderful, colourful nature of Lapland. The wilderness, bare fells, vast marshlands, the green forests, and animals were his most important sources for inspiration…untamed nature.
His landscapes rarely show human beings. Villages blend effortlessly into virgin nature.
His protagonists are the bears, wolves ptarmigans, seals, and other endangered species. They are the material of his tender and melancholic compositions of colour...…
He is a pessimist and an optimist combined. A man of the world and a hermit, a part of him dreaming beneath a spruce tree, another part the builder of a mighty studio in the wilderness.”
Photos of Särestöniemi’s art from visits to the museum in 2020 and 2024…I wish that I’d taken more photos of the dreamy landscapes, but my 2 year old had other ideas at that point! You can see further images here.
