Mikrohistoria, 2024. Photo: Henrik-Pathirane.
Verna Joki
Verna Joki’s artistic practice consists of drawing from perception with ink. She earned her Master of Fine Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of the Arts Helsinki in 2021 and completed her studies in painting at the Free Art School in 2017. Joki has held several solo exhibitions in Finland, most recently in 2023 at the Taidekeskus Mältinranta in Tampere, the Poriginal Gallery in Pori, and the Oksasenkatu 11 Gallery in Helsinki.
In 2023, Joki was awarded the Finnish Art Society’s Young artist grant. She is currently working with the support of a three-year grant from the Kone Foundation. Joki’s works are included in the Finnish State Art Collection.
Paavo Paunu
Paavo Paunu‘s (b. 1965) paintings and sculptures depict the human being – dreams and disappointments as well as the relationship with nature. Paunu has created large-scale works that have also acquired a spatial dimension. The paintings have become stages that expand to front and behind. Paunu is a painter of space, and he positions his paintings in such a way that they become installations. Wood as a material is one of the concrete platforms for painting: it can be carved and painted – it is possible to implant new elements on the surface of the wood. The sculptures show the careful, time-consuming work: only the working process brings out the wood material and gives it form, showing the material as it is.
Paunu is not limited by the usual tools of sculpture or painting, nor by obvious models, genres or references to theoretical sources. The voice of the works echoes from further away, from a world of its own, which is a human reality. It is characterised by psychological surrealism and expressive symbolism. It is as if Paunu is searching for the timeless core of the human being, the causes and consequences of actions, emotions ranging from goodness, confidence and triumphalism to shame and disbelief. Paunu’s images reflect the uniqueness of experience and the human relationship to the unknown dimensions of the world: nature, the depths of the mind, the imagination of the artist and the viewer. (Martta Heikkilä)
Puhdistus, 2024, detail. Photo: Ville Välikangas.
Ville Välikangas
Ville Välikangas (born 1983) is a native of Kirkkonummi. He currently lives in Kerava and works in Tuusula. Välikangas is interested in the themes of existence and it has always been important for him to depict humanity. In addition to people, landscapes for example are a recurring motif in his paintings. Välikangas graduated as a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Lahti Art Institute in 2015. He previously studied visual arts at the Pekka Halonen Academy in 2005–08. Välikangas works mainly with oil colour, but he also paints with watercolours and gouaches. This is his tenth solo exhibition.
The exhibition has been supported by Kone Foundation and the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
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