Anssi Kasitonni delights at Serlachius “with gentle means and easy tasks”

Anssi Kasitonni (b. 1978), winner of the international Below Zero Finnish Art Award 2025, researched the history of Beaconsfield Gallery, which serves as the workspace for the London residency included in the award. The building was once a school for poor children. The artist found an old graphic print depicting the grand pediment that once crowned the portico of a now demolished part of the building.

Kasitonni created a large-scale pediment, interpreting in his own way the image themes of the graphic print. A play of ideas, reminiscent of the Chinese Whispers game, led from one image to another, and thus the work now incorporates, among other things, a London taxi, a submarine, a peacock, and a cat that hung around the gallery.

More information was found in the City of London archives, including the school’s motto: “with gentle means and easy tasks”, a quotation from Shakespeare’s Othello. The phrase reflects the way in which the school for poor children sought to educate its pupils.This also gave rise to the name of the new work.

For the duration of the exhibition, the pediment work will be placed above the front door of Serlachius Headquarters, where it conceptually, but perhaps not architecturally, belongs. The former headquarters of the G. A. Serlachius company, built in the 1930s, represents Classicism and Functionalism.

Exhibition of recent years’ output

The exhibition, which carries the name of the Below Zero Finnish Art Award 2025, continues indoors at Serlachius Headquarters.It consists of Kasitonni’s output from the last few years: paintings, sculptures and films. His sculptures and films, inspired by pop art, ooze nostalgia and confront the viewer with their sincerity.

“Anssi Kasitonni is known in Finland as a visual artist, musician and filmmaker who has established himself as a favourite of both the serious art world and the general public,” says Pauli Sivonen, Director of Serlachius and one of the curators of the exhibition.The other curators of the exhibition are David Crawforth, Naomi Siderfin and Tarja Väätänen.

The Below Zero Finnish Art Award is an art prize jointly awarded by the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland, Beaconsfield Gallery, Mirish & Lebenheim Charitable Foundation and Serlachius. The award is aimed at Finnish artists seeking international visibility and is awarded every other year.

Anssi Kasitonn’s exhibition Below Zero Finnish Art Award 2025 is on display at Serlachius Headquarters 21 March–30 August 2026.

Prix de Kasitonni and Anssi Kasitonni clothing collection

Anssi Kasitonni is from Mänttä-Vilppula, the same town where Serlachius is located. Kasitonni won the Ars Fennica Award, Finland’s most prestigious visual‑arts prize, in 2011. His public sculptures can be found in several localities in Finland.

An important part of Kasitonni’s exhibition is the Prix de Kasitonni, an Everyman Racing class race, to be held at the Särkikangas motor circuit in Mänttä-Vilppula on 16 April 2026. The event, organised by a local motor sports club, will feature a show start with Kasitonni as the driver.

In conjunction with the exhibition, a collaboration collection between art fashion brand Pispala and Serlachius, with artistic illustrations by Anssi Kasitonni, will be launched.

Further information and image requests: Susanna Yläjärvi, Information Officer, Serlachius, tel. +358 (0)50 560 0156, susanna.ylajarvi@serlachius.fi

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