On Foot exhibition comprehensively presents walking in art

Walking is at the core of the human experience. It rarely attracts interest in everyday life, however. Every person’s gait is unique, but cultural norms also influence the way we walk.

“The exhibition’s paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs and videos present a diverse examination of walking. They show the contrast between practical and leisure activities, solitary and communal, as well as walking through different seasons and stages of life,” says Tomi Moisio.

On Foot is based on Serlachius’ own art collection and features works by artists from Akseli Gallen-Kallela to Elina Brotherus, from Marcus Collin to Mark Wallinger. In addition, the exhibition showcases works on loan from other museum collections as well as new works by contemporary artists.

The exhibition examines how artists and scientists have addressed this fundamental activity over the past two hundred years and have reflected upon what walking says about us as humans.

In the 19th century, for example, walking was studied using photography and empirical observations. Images of these scientific experiments and their results influenced the way many early 20th century art movements, such as Cubism and Futurism, expressed reality.

Walking as part of human life

“We march home determinedly after a hard day’s work, take quick strides in the fresh air, and battle against the forces of nature when the weather turns bad. And, moreover, we all are shuffling inevitably towards death,” says Moisio.

Through walking, the exhibition illuminates broader questions related to time and our experience of it, social relationships, belonging, the environment, war, and more everyday struggles. Some of the works allude to painful moments in history, while others combine the rugged mountain landscapes of Romanticism with computer game aesthetics.

On Foot illustrates the kind of traces our movements leave both on the physical environment and in our memory. One section of the exhibition focuses on works that not only depict walking, but in which walking itself has played a decisive role in their creation.

The exhibition is curated by PhD Tomi Moisio and PhD Carlos Idrobo. Moisio is a Curator at Serlachius, while visiting curator Idrobo, a Finland-based researcher and artist, has investigated walking as a motif in visual art in his doctoral dissertation and subsequent articles. Walking is also a central theme in Idrobo’s artistic production.

Featured in the exhibition

Bernhard Siegfried Albinus, Adamson-Eric, Francis Alÿs, Niran Baibulat, David Blandy, Elina Brotherus, Marcus Collin, Helge Dahlman, Albert Edelfelt, Magnus Enckell, Erik Enroth, Antti Favén, Gustaf Wilhelm Finnberg, Otto Fischer & Wilhelm Braune, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Tiina Heiska, Luca Idrobo, Emmi Kairenius, Kimmo Kaivanto, Ole Kandelin, Unto Kerttula, Harry Kivijärvi, Tim Knowles, Antti Laitinen, Kalle Lampela, Pirkko Lepistö, Jouko Leskelä, Richard Long, Étienne-Jules Marey, Hermann Meyer, Timo K. Mukka, Hjalmar Munsterhjelm, Onni Muusari, Eadweard Muybridge, Olavi Mäkelä, Eva Olsoni, Paul Richter & Albert Londe, Juho Rissanen, Angelo Rizzuto, Hanna Saarikoski, Heli Salonen, Jari Silomäki, Hugo Simberg, Ivan Šiskin, Per Stenius, Robert Stigell, Juha Suonpää, Ivan Timiriasew, Sakari Tohka, Gilles de la Tourette, Markku Valtonen, Hermann Vierordt, Ekke Väli, Mark Wallinger, Wilhelm Eduard Weber & Eduard Friedrich Weber and Victoria Åberg

On Foot will be on display at Serlachius Headquarters from 26 September 2026 to 21 February 2027.

Events related to the exhibition

• A curator’s tour of the exhibition will be held on 26 September at 2 pm. Tomi Moisio will introduce the exhibition.
• A walking drawing workshop related to the exhibition will be held on 26 September at 3 pm–4.30 pm. The workshop will be led by Carlos Idrobo and Kalle Lampela. Both events are in Finnish.
• Walking bass round in the On Foot exhibition on 20 February 2027 at 3 pm.

Both events and the workshop are included in the standard museum admission fee.

Serlachius is open:
in the winter season, 1 September–31 May, from Tuesday to Sunday, 11 am–6 pm
in the summer season, 1 June–31 August, every day 10 am–6 pm

Visiting addresses:
Serlachius Manor, Joenniementie 47, Mänttä, Finland
Serlachius Headquarters, R. Erik Serlachiuksen katu 2, Mänttä, Finland

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