Hans-Christian Berg, The Illusion of Form, 2007

The sculpture The Illusion of Form by the sculptor Hans-Christian Berg was unveiled in front of the Salo High School on 10/6/2006. The sculpture is an acquisition of Percent for Art. At the intersection of Kiskontie and Perniöntie, it delights high school students and other residents of the city.

The shape of the sculpture is round with a diameter of 3m, and it is made of steel. The work is made of about 3,000 pieces in the shape of ones and zeros. The work seeks to give visible form to the rhythmic dance of bits and metaphysical elements in a spherical cosmic shape, where all energy is seeking to go. The sculpture is in constant interaction with changing angles and the strength of the light falling on it. According to the time of day, the nature of the work changes from a closed form into an etheric cloud of signs swimming in light.
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Simo Helenius, Moose sculpture, 1995

In 1995, Simo Helenius´ Moose Sculpture was unveiled in Sibelius Park. The sculpture was acquired as a bequeathal by Sulo Rissanen, who lived nearby on Mököistenkatu. The donor ordered a sculpture representing a moose to be placed in Sibelius Park.

Helenius´ (1942-) sculptures can be seen, for example, on the streets of Turku: Curious (1973), Cat-Kallu (1989) and Busy Bookworms (1975). Simo Helenius was a founding member of the Turku Arte Association and he is a member of the Finnish Sculptors Association.
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Armas Hutri, The Fetterer, 1983

The Fetterer (1983) by the sculptor Armas Hutri (1922-2015) was unveiled in the station park of Salo in May 2004. The bronze and granite sculpture is a metaphor for the cycle of life and regeneration. The grey granite refers to nature and the bronze mantle that covers it reflects the fettering power of nature. Armas Hutri´s other public sculptures include, for example, the Finnish Immigrants Memorial (1976) in Thunder Bay, Canada and the Burning Bush (1989) grave monument for Ella Eronen in Helsinki.
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Pekka Jylhä, Joy, 2007

At the time of the completion of the renovation and expansion of the Salo city swimming hall, Pekka Jylhä´s (b. 1955) colorful 5m beachball-themed sculpture Joy was unveiled on 5/30/2007. The painted stainless steel piece was fabricated at Halikko Works. The Halikko workers had previously collaborated with Pekka Jylhä. Part of President Urho Kekkonen´s memorial was made in Halikko.

The sculpture for the indoor swimming hall serves as a landmark and mascot with a positive and joyful spirit.
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Sirkka Kiviranta, Coastal Railway Memorial, 1995

The railway has had great importance for the development of Salo´s township and city. On the 1st of November in 1899, the railway between Turku and Karjaa was opened. The continuing track from Karjaa to Helsinki was opened in 1903. In honor of the renovation of the coastal railway, the monument designed by Sirkka Kiviranta (1941-) was erected in Horn Park in 1995. The monument of the coastal track was built out of stones from railway bridges demolished in 1993.

Sirkka Kiviranta, a member of the Salo Art Society, was born in Kajaani in 1941. In addition to the Turku Art Society´s drawing school, she has studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and in Florence at the Scuola Lorenzo de´ Medici.
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Väinö Komu, The Hedgehog and On Guard

The sculptor Väinö Komu´s bronze hedgehogs On Guard (1991) and Little Hedgehog (1988) were acquired for the Sirkkula schoolyard in accordance with the city of Salo´s percent principle when the school expanded in 2005. The hedgehogs were installed in the spring of 2006.

Väinö Komu (1928-2013) is a sculptor from Lahti whose production is characterized by a warm relationship with humans and animals. He describes the simple pleasures and delights of human life, as well as those of animals in the yard, such as cats, squirrels and hedgehogs .
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Taina Kuusikoski, Thread of Life, 2000

Since 2000, Taina Kuusikoski´s Thread of Life light installation has decorated the wall of the Pirita art space in Salo College (Hämeentie 34). By day, the work is a decorative vine intertwined with nature´s light and shadow, but in the dark the spiraling vine on the wall seems like another work.
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Muddle Lilius, Water Dragon, 2009

Water Dragon, which is based on the fairy tale written and illustrated by Muddle Lilius from Hanko, is located in the courtyard of the Anisten daycare center of Salo.

The serpentine climbing sculpture is made of a Finnish type of rock known as Kuru Black. The work was executed in collaboration with Kristian Kober, who made the blueprint with Lilius, and the stone carver Heikki Räsänen from Pori. The Water Dragon at Anisten daycare is a replica of the sculpture on Vuorikatu in Hanko, which was completed in 1999. The sculpture was acquired during the renovation and expansion of the daycare in 2009 .
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Antti Maasalo, Moving – Playing – Living, 1998

Antti Maasalo´s kinetic light artwork is on the ceiling of the entrance of the Salohalli (Urheilupuisto 9), which was completed in 1998. The work, which is moved by wind power, symbolizes the many possibilities for indoor sport. The work is illuminated by colored lights that shine brightly at night. The contest for the name of the work was won by the proposal Moving – Playing – Living. Antti Maasalo (1940-) belongs to the Dimension and Non Art groups. Antti Maasalo is also known as a designer of children´s play sculptures.
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Jan-Olof Mallander, Towards the Pure Land, 2014

Salo Art Museum organized an exhibition 2014 of the work of the Harvesters (Elonkorjaajat in Finnish), an experimental group of Finnish artists and which included J.O. Mallanders work Towards the Pure Land. The museum purchased it to art collections so it can be seen in the museum yard today.

From a distance, Towards the Pure Land seems like one simple thing, but closer in the sculpture is a thousand things. It is a unique array of bricks given the particular point of view.
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Seppo Manninen, The Flame of Liberty 1992

In honor of 75 years of independence for Finland, a monument honoring the contributions of the wartime generations was revealed in Sibelius Park. The Arc of Time and The Flame of Independence together form the memorial monument of The Flame of Liberty, which depicts the passing of history of an independent Finland. The Arc of Time, which describes the history of our country from the early 1900s, rises from the ground, sometimes with force but at times also breaking. Ten meters in length, The Arc of Time is carved out of red granite. The Flame of Independence symbolizes the strength, power and determination that was required to gain and maintain independence. The flame is made of polished stainless steel. The project was realized through donations, fundraising and the financial assistance of the city.

The sculptor Seppo Manninen (b. 1937) integrates different materials such as wood, cloth and metal. His other works include for example Crescendo in Turku concert hall.
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Matti Nummelin, Prelude, 1977

The relief Prelude made by the artist Matti Nummelin (1927-2014) was attached to the wall of Salo´s Business School, which is currently the Keskusta school (Kavilankatu 1), when the building was completed in 1977. Nummelin was inspired at the Savonlinna Opera Festival by the prelude of Richard Wagner´s opera The Master Singers of Nuremberg. The piece is constructed of stainless steel and it is lit from below by beams of light that illuminate the work at night. Matti Nummelin´s sculpture Relay Runners of 1975 can be found on the wall of Salo´s Sports Hall (Perniöntie 7).
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Matti Nummelin, Relay Runners, 1975

Matti Nummelin´s relief Relay Runners (1975) is on the wall of the Sports Hall (Perniöntie 7) that was commissioned by Salo´s Viesti. Relay Runners is Nummelin´s first oeuvre made by means of welding. Students of Salo´s vocational school helped the artist in the welding of Relay Runners, as well as a larger Ode to Life relief now in Savonlinna´s nursing school. Outside of the theater in Uusikaupunki is found Nummelin´s bronze Bow. Matti Nummelin studied at the Turku drawing school in 1948-1950 and he was a member of the Salo artists association.
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Matti Peltokangas, Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt, 2010

A sculpture representing Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt made by the sculptor Matti Peltokangas (b. 1952) was unveiled on August 13, 2010. The sculpture, which was located in the yard of the Halikko library, was donated to the city of Salo at the same time. The sculpture was executed as a collaboration of multiple participants: Joensuun kartano/Åminne Gods, Nokia Oyj, Sampo Oyj, TS-Yhtymä Oy, the city of Salo, Salo´s Osuuspankki, SSP-Yhtiöt Oy, Stiftelsen för Åbo Akademi and the Suur-Seudun Osuuskauppa.

G. M. Armfelt (1757-1814) is without question one of the most remarkable persons in the history of our country. He had a unique opportunity to work closely with two political elites: the first in the 1780s and beginning of the 1790s as a favorite of the Swedish King Gustav III, and in the early 1810s as a close advisor of the Russian Emperor Alexander I. His estate was Åminne´s (Joensuu´s) manor. G. M. Armfelt is buried in the church of Halikko.
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Taneli Rautiainen, Salo Clock, 20119

Salo Clock is permanently mounted on the wall of the Salo Art Museum. The clock in the tower will surprise at a second glance. Pointers rotate with swinging movements like a scaffolding gymnast on a sled. Present, future and the past are mixed. Clock dial leads the viewer to the inner world of the house, to an art museum where the freedom of art overturns the laws of nature, to a place where anything is possible. Salo Art Museum Friends -association purchased and donated the clock to museum collections. Salo Clock was unveiled on October 10 2019.
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Ben Renvall, Marjatta, 1930

Ben Renvall´s Marjatta statue is located near the entrance of Uskela church. The statue was donated by Ben Renvall´s mother. Renvall (1903-1979) made the Kalevala-themed Marjatta in the 1930s. He continued to work on Kalevala themes for a long time. Amongst the sculptures in Salo, the sculpture Lauri the Blacksmith and The Spirit of Radio were also done by Ben Renvall.
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Ben Renvall, The Spirit of Radio, 1955

A new commercial building was built at Turuntie 8 in 1955. The following year, above the entrance was unveiled the first relief to be visible in Salo´s street scene, Ben Renvall´s The Spirit of Radio. On the lot was Kirstilä House, where Salora radios were made in 1929-52. Salora´s radio production was subsequently moved to a new factory building on Annankatu, but the administration remained on Turuntie.
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Ben Renvall, Lauri the Blacksmith, 1960

On a small mound on the riverfront at the end of Vilhonkatu is Ben Renvall´s bronze sculpture Lauri the Blacksmith. The sculpture is from the year 1963. According to lore, a blacksmith named Lauri was the first known resident of Salo. When the township became a city in 1960, a statue project in honor of the blacksmith was launched. The expenses were covered by donations and funds of the newly established city.

Ben Renvall studied at the Finnish Art Society drawing school under the tutelage of Viktor Malmberg (1927-1932) and he worked in the atelier of the sculptor Wäinö Aaltonen in the 1930s. During that era, Renvall´s wood and clay sculptures were overflowing, cheerful and humorous. During the following decade, he mostly sculpted nude models and plaster portraits.
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Jarkko Roth, A Memorial for Fjalar Nordell, 1996

In 1928, Fjalar Nordell and Lauri Koskinen founded Nordell & Koskinen, a company that sold cars and manufactured and sold radios. The name of the Salora-receiver became the name of the company in the 1940s. After television, the company´s most popular products were walkie-talkies. The consumer electronics manufacturer Nokia continues Salora´s tradition of electronics.

In 1994, the former employees of Salora formed a local committee whose task was to erect a monument to Fjalar Nordell. So many donations were received from Salo businesses, foundations and individuals that there was even money left over. The work was commissioned of the sculptor Jarkko Roth (1943-). Made of the red granite of Taivassalo, the monument is situated in a ten-meter circle of granite rubble. Weighing 24,000 kg , the memorial stone features Fjalar Nordell´s profile, which is directed towards his industrial buildings. Fjalar Nordell´s monument was unveiled on 7/24/1996 in St. Anthony Park, twenty years after his death.
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Jarkko Roth, The Power of Knowledge, 1998

In 1998, Jarkko Roth´s sculpture The Power of Knowledge was erected in the courtyard of the City Library (Vilhonkatu 2). Jarkko Roth himself did not want to name the work, but instead wanted suggestions from users of the library. The stone sculptures interested people, and many proposals were made to the library. From among these, the local newspaper chose six names that were voted on by the public. The Power of Knowledge ended up as the winner. The sculptor was also satisfied with the new name, which refers to Aleksis Kivi´s Seven Brothers, where having a strong will takes a man even through gray stone. The sculpture in front of the library reflects how knowledge makes life richer. The three stones of The Power of Knowledge are placed on gray granite columns. The vertical black stone is diorite and the red one is granite. The white block is limestone.
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Rafael Saifulin, The Bird

In Kisko Park in Toija can be found the sculptor Rafael Saifulin´s sculpture, a 4.5 meter human figure that holds in its hands a bird with spread wings. The sculpture was finished in 2009, and it is made of iron and stainless steel. Earlier in Kisko Park was located Saifulin´s sculpture Girl and Swans, which for the sake of preservation needed to be moved indoors. Rafael Saifulin lives and works in Kisko. His public sculptures can be seen, for example, in Hanko (Wind from the Sea, 2005) and Turku (Lucky Horse, 2005).
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Rafael Saifulin, Onni – Happiness, 2006

Rafael Saifulin´s bronze sculpture Onni – Happiness (2006) was donated to the city of Salo 2017. The donator Jukka Helkama wanted to donate the sculpture on Finland´s centenary celebration year. The sculpture in placed in front of the city hall.
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Kimmo Schroderus, Megafauna, 2019

Sculptor Kimmo Schroderus’ important tools are the transparency of the works, the richness of forms and twisting them, the fascination with glossiness and the reflectiveness of the surfaces. The sculpture Megafauna is made of acid-resistant steel in dimension 490x450x150cm. The sculpture was unveiled in front of Salo Art Museum in September 2019.
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