The greatest show by artist Tove Jansson, who created the beloved fairy tale character Moomin, opens in Paris

You can’t help but think that Tove Jansson might have preferred a quieter sort of exposition. Loneliness came naturally to the Finnish cartoonist and writer, minus the stardom afforded by her globally acclaimed Moomin books. This reclusive tendency was best evidenced in the summer pilgrimages Jansson began making in his fifties to Klovharun, a small island in the Finnish archipelago that offered privacy and seclusion in place of electricity and running water.

Nonetheless, Jansson’s Estate decided to stage one of the biggest exhibitions exploring his oeuvre and legacy in Paris – and during the hubbub of Paris Fashion Week and Art Basel Betting as a bonus. The location is not entirely incidental. In his twenties, Jansson studied painting in the city, dropping out of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts for a small studio, then trying, and largely failing, to gain recognition as a painter.

That makes “Houses of Tove Jansson,” which runs from September 29 to October 28, a bit of a homecoming of sorts, which introduces Jansson to more than just the quirky mind behind an adorable family of fairytale trolls.

Tove Jansson, Countryside (circa 1930s). Photo: estate of Tove Jansson.

On the five floors of The community, a Parisian art institution, visitors will meet all of Jansson: an artist who followed the currents of the 20th century in her impressionist and abstract paintings; an author of novels, poems and radio plays; and perhaps most importantly, a queer woman with a pacifist bent who defied the norms and expectations of her time. It is, as Thomas Zambra says, a great-nephew who manages the inheritance of Jansson, the whole story of his life. And yes, that includes the Moomin.

“We aim to keep his work alive and relevant, ensuring his legacy continues to inspire and delight future generations,” Zambra told Artnet News. “We believe we can offer audiences a new way to see and experience their work.”

One aspect of this new approach has been to invite contemporary artists, including Emma Kohlmann, Ida Ekblad and Vidya Gastaldon, to create new works that engage Jansson’s aesthetic universes and philosophy. Artists were selected by The Community and encouraged to create what they saw fit, troll or otherwise.

Painting by Tove Jansson. Photo: estate of Tove Jansson.

The main focus, however, is the artistic trajectory of one of the most famous cartoonists in history, which will satisfy beginners and hardcore fans alike. Born in Helsinki in 1914 to a father who worked as a sculptor and an illustrator mother, Jansson’s creativity was evident from an early age. This propensity is exhibited in Paris, with the first examples of it illustrated storybookssome of which included fledgling versions of his amorphous trolls.

The range and quantity of Jansson’s work stands out. There are illustrations for children’s books, large-scale paintings, merchandise, sketches for opera, sets for theater, and much more. For visitors needing a break, The Community has built a reading room containing not only Jansson’s best-known titles, but also a recreation of his personal Helsinki library.

Fittingly, the exhibit dedicates space to the archipelago in which Jansson spent her summers and features objects from her daily life, including the handmade Moomin flag that fluttered above her. Chalet Klovharun. This recreation of physical spaces is the thinking behind the show’s name, show curators Sini Rinne-Kanto and Tuukka Laurila told Artnet News. “We talk about the importance of different spaces for Tove Jansson, places where she felt at home, like on the island.”

See more images from the show below.