Sensual Closeness
May 16 – June 16, 2019
Featuring work by Heli Hiltunen, Aki Turunen, Milla Aska, Emma Luukkala, Emily Gernild, Anni Leppälä, Maisa Majakka, and Tommi Toija.
The idea for Sensual Closeness arrived in the form of a recognition, an invitation of sorts...
I bumped into the artist Heli Hiltunen during an exhibition opening at the Museum of Photography. In the middle of the conversation she smiled and asked,
"Why don't you have another exhibition next May in your apartment?"
It felt like exactly the invitation I had been waiting for.
Sometimes all we need is for someone else to recognise what already wants to exist.
I decided then and there that Marcy would continue in my apartment.
As the exhibition began to take form, I found myself returning to a theme I had been exploring for some time: the fabric of human connection.
Then, while exploring Heli Hiltunen’s work, I came across an old text describing her work as being about sensual closeness.
The moment I read those words, I knew I had found the title.
To me, sensual closeness is an invitation to return to the body.
To slow down.
To notice.
To trust the subtle, non-logical dialogue between ourselves and the world around us.
One that asks for presence rather than performance; patience rather than urgency; curiosity rather than certainty.
Bringing together artists of different generations and artistic practices, the exhibition became an exploration of the human experience through sensitivity, boldness, materiality, and intuition.
There was an abundance to it.
A home filled with paintings, sculptures, photographs, conversations, and people.
I absolutely loved that feeling.
Because homes that are deeply lived in rarely feel minimal.
They carry a rich tapestry of traces of curiosity, memory, beauty, and life.
Sensual Closeness had a more is more feel to it, which I love in the home environment, because usually when there is a passion for art, you tend to want to be surrounded by a lot of it.
The Artists
Heli Hiltunen
Aki Turunen
Milla Aska
Emma Luukkala
Emily Gernild
Anni Leppälä
Maisa Majakka
Tommi Toija.
Looking Back
Sensual Closeness was an ode to something that has become a core pillar of my philosophy: Meaningful experiences don't begin with what we see.
They begin with how we feel.
Long before we analyse a place, a work of art, or another person, our senses have already begun to tell us whether we can relax, whether we are welcome, whether we belong, whether we will be accepted in our authenticity.
That insight continues to guide how I think about spaces, hospitality, leadership, and meaningful creation today.
The Exhibitions
An exploration of art, belonging, emotional landscapes, and the many ways art can bring people together.
Hetki
2018
An invitation to feel belonging through art.
Sensual Closeness
2019
Exploring presence through the senses
Ripples
2019
An inquiry around how experiences continue living within us.
Unraveling
2020
An exploration of transformation through letting go.
Reframing
2020
An invitation to see with new eyes by reconnecting with intuition, presence, and the landscape within.
A Playful Approach
2021
Examining playfulness as a path towards discovery, freedom, and new ways of seeing.
Reflections
2021
A reflection on: not everything meaningful needs to be interpreted before it can be felt.
Together
2022
An invitation to trust that meaningful creation grows through relationships, generosity, and shared ways of seeing.
Enigmatic
2022
An invitation to trust intuition not as certainty: as a way of listening before something has language.
Caldera
2022
The inexplicable, cloud-like force of creation .
Bridges
2023
What if the things we create are creating us in return?
What it Means To Be Human
2025
What if our greatest creations are the ones that remind us what it means to be human?