Tony Sjöman: Dome Dossier

Hanaholmen, Espoo

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1.6 - 31.8.2021

The gallery is open every day from 10 am to 8 pm, free entry.

Thank you for following our guidelines for a safe visit: You are welcome to visit us only if you are healthy. Max 6 people are allowed in the gallery space at the time. Thank you for using a face mask and keeping a 6 feet safety distance from other guests. Welcome!


Hanaholmen Gallery is pleased to present Dome Dossier a solo show featuring new works by New York City-based artist Tony Sjöman (b. 1975). The exhibition marks the artist first solo show in his fatherland, Finland and highlights a continuation of Sjöman’s self-proclaimed obsession to ‘create that one work, in which every element finds its right place’.

Sjöman’s pursuit, which stems from a sense of disarray in his formative years, is pursued by the aegis of his signature recurring elements, such as muted colors (a tribute to the gritty and brutalist surroundings of his childhood) and architectural shapes, representing the geographical, cultural and class-related shifts he has experienced during his lifetime.

Dome Dossier will showcase a series of eight new oil paintings, four limited edition silk-screen prints and a significant gallery mural. The show title is a nod to the ‘dome’ that the pandemic put upon the world. While entrapping, the dome also became a purveyor of self-reflection, shaking up previously cemented truths and philosophies. Other than being a standalone exhibition, the show at Hanasaari Gallery commences a mural arts tour, celebrating the 400th birthday of his native Gothenburg, where Sjöman will paint a permanent mural in the city center. Sjöman will also subsequently paint permanent murals in Gothenburg’s friend city Turku as well as the city of Oulu in Finland.

Tony Sjöman (aka Rubin) started painting graffiti at the age of nine in the tram tunnels of Bergsjön – a gritty housing project in Gothenburg, Sweden. His parents were Finnish immigrant blue-collar workers. The self taught artist struggled initially with the notion of hailing from the wrong side of the train tracks, but his move to New York City, some thirteen years ago, cleared the stage, while granting him the artistic direction that he had previously been missing.

Tony Sjöman has since become a staple of the art scene of New York City. His abstract murals, signed ’Rubin’ – can be seen in a wide variety of spots in and around the city. Sjöman’s studio practice consists mainly of oil and acrylics on canvas and his works have been on display at Scope New York, Scope Miami and Art Miami during Art Basel, as well as in galleries throughout New York City, Miami and Los Angeles. Among some of Sjöman’s current prominent studio commissions, are a series of large scale paintings, two of which which can be seen in the lobby of the Zaha Hadid building in Chelsea.

Sjöman is the first artist to have been commissioned to design a credit card for American Express (2019) and his art has been commissioned by several major mainstream brands, such as Google, Facebook, Starbucks and Lululemon, to name a few. Tony Sjöman resides in Manhattan with his wife and son and works from his art studio in Long Island City. He is represented by two New York City galleries: Sugarlift and Uprise Art.

The mural art tour is a collaborative effort by the Sweden-Finnish Cultural Embassy, ​​Northern AiR residency network, Hanaholmen – Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre in collaboration with the Swedish-Finnish Cultural Foundation, and the cities of Oulu and Turku.

Contact Info
Aino Kostiainen, programme coordinator at Hanaholmen Gallery
+358 40 551 9933, aino.kostiainen@hanaholmen.fi