Utstillingsfoto: Tor S. Ulstein / Kunstdok

FINSK FOKUS
1. juni til 2. juli 2023
1. juni kl 18: Åpningsfest
2. juni kl 15.30: Kunstnersamtaler

Pauliina Turakka Purhonen
Jesse Avdeikov
Kholod Hawash
Juliana Hyrri
Anna-Stiina Korhonen
Harri Monni
Eeva Honkanen
Ilona Niemi

Utstillingen Finsk Fokus gir oss et lite gløtt inn gjennom vinduet til samtidskunstscenen i Finland, der kunstnerne bruker optikk som skråstiller, forskyver, vrir, snur om på og viser oss hverdagslivets mange fasetter med dype nyanser og tidvis frigjørende humor. Slik gir de oss verktøy for virkelighetsforståelse, åpner rom for tolkning, glede, smerte og ettertanke.

«Tar vi trappene til loftet, er vi på et sted utenfor rekkevidden av effektiv tenkning, mindfulness og antialdring: Et sted hvor skjørhet, følelsen av å være utenforstående og skadelige vaner anerkjennes.» – Anna-Stiina Korhonen

Det grunnleggende menneskelige med å la seg forvirre av tilværelsen finner vi spor av hos alle de deltakende kunstnerne. De viser oss hvordan vi kan bearbeide hendelser og opplevelser, tankekaos og bekymringer med perspektivforskyvningene vi får gjennom kunstens vridde linse.

”Havet är så vidsträckt, så omätligt stort, det tycks vila i eget majestät också i full storm. Det har sett miljoner år, och nött ner berg till fin sand. De stenar jag släpar på känns inte särskilt tunga i jämförelse med det.” – Pauliina Turakka Purhonen

Drøm møter erfaring i lys og mørke, malt med nål og tråd, pensel og tusj. På insisterende og nådeløst vis bunner verkene langt dypere enn de sterke fargene skulle tilsi. Store og små erfaringer og hverdagsøyeblikk tas på kornet og foreviges i nitide arbeid med utstnitt av noe som har vært eller kunne vært: Et sted vi kjenner igjen men likevel aldri kan ha vært fordi det aldri fantes, vist oss gjennom en knust optikk som siler visuelle inntrykk på uvant vis.

«Utopiske omgivelser er ekte og eksisterende steder, opplevelser, minner og objekter, men helheten i seg selv ikke-eksisterende.» – Juliana Hyrri

Naturen, særlig i form av dyr er tydelig tilstede i utstillingen med referanser til mytologi, religion og et opprør mot en strømlinjeforming av samfunnet der det irrasjonelle og skakke ved oss sjaltes vekk og gjemmes bort.

«En samling av skjødesløst lagrede skatter i vårt sinn - et arkiv over feil husket. Arkiver oppstår ikke av seg selv, men er en samling av valg gjort av noen med vilje eller utilsiktet. Minner hoper seg opp, sinnet begynner å beskjære og kombinere.» – Anna-Stiina Korhonen

Finsk Fokus er kuratert av Pernille Gjærder Olsen og Nora Krogh. Bærum Kunsthall samarbeider med kunstnerstyrte Forum Box (FB) i Helsinki og kunstnerne som søkte Forum Box Open Call kunne velge å dele sin søknad med BK. Disse 350 søknadene samt besøk ved visningssteder i Helsinki i danner utgangspunktet for kurateringen.

Utstillingen er støttet av Viken Fylkeskommune, Finno og FRAME Contemporary Art Finland


Information about the participating artists:

Pauliina Turakka Purhonen (b 1971) studied at Kuvataideakatemia 1996-2003, painting department, but then turned to textiles. With applications, textile scupltures and embroidery she has made a distinct artistic expression. Her works are represented in collections such as Taidemuseo, Amos Andersonin Museo, Helsinki Art Museum HAM Collection, EMMA - Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Finland, Kiasma, Helsinki Finland, Oulun Taidemuseo, Pro Artibus, Suomen Taideyhdistys, Uppsala Konstmuseum, Sverige, V Wäinö Aaltosen Museo, Wihurin Rahasto/Rovaniemen Taidemuseo Korundi, Ålands Konstmuseum, Ålands Landskapsregering.
–”Havet är så vidsträckt, så omätligt stort, det tycks vila i eget majestät också i full storm. Det har sett miljoner år, och nött ner berg till fin sand. De stenar jag släpar på känns inte särskilt tunga i jämförelse med det. Att arbeta handlar också om sig självt, arbetet. Vad är det jag gör? Det finns inte alltid en plan, det finns en aning, en bild som gjort intryck, en fysisk förnimmelse, ett skavande minne. Någon annans bild. Försöker greppa den helheten.”

Kholod Hawash (b. 1977) is a self-thaught textile artist from Basra, Iraq. She learned the Iraqi handsewing technique from her mother. After moving to Finland through Artists at Risk in 2018, she has quicly stablished a carreer as an acclaimed artist, and is now included in the collections at Kiasma in Helsinki, Helsinki Art Museum HAM Collection, EMMA - Espoo Museum of Modern Art, and private collections in France, Iraq, Dubai, Spain and Switzerland. She recently held a solo show at Galleri Huuto in Helsinki. Kholod Hawash was awarded the William Thuring price in 2022 and is one of the three selected artists to create the work for the Nordic Pavillion in the Venice Biennale 2024.
–”My works try to be the synthesis of my individuality, my emotionality, my critical judgment combined with craftswomanship and originality in order to produce artistic forms that are characterized by their realism, irony and urgency of denunciation about the society we woman are living in.”

Juliana Hyrri (b. 1989) is a Helsinki-based visual artist who mainly works with painting and contemporary comics. She has exhibited her works widely in Finland and internationally, and published two graphic novels.
–”I think about the transience of an experience, how it is suddenly something else. I think about the way in which a memory breaks into pieces. And lying memories. I show places, experiences, memories and items that exist or have existed. The outcome itself, however, is non-existent and deceptive with blurred boundaries and stories blending into each other.”

Harri Monni (b. 1965) is educated from Konsthögskolan, Tukholma, Kuvataideakatemia, Helsinki, Konsthögskolan Umeå, Pernby målarskola, Tukholma og Litografiska akademin, Tidaholm. He is teaching at the Art Acadamy in Helsinki. Monnis work is included in collections such as
Moderna Museet, Nationalmuseet, British Museum, Gustav VI Adolfs konstsamling vid Stockholms slott Statens Konstråd, Linköpings kommun and Örebro Kommun. He is exhibitin extensively both in Finland and abroad.
–”The broken and divided planes of the image that deconstructs the reading of the painting. Rereading of the interior as a possible locus of a place where the access, the entering is denied, the structure of information and disinformation is in flux, where the logic of the layers of information that planes builds are complicated. The shift of the structure, the coded, fragmented elements of an architecture builds up a contemporariness where the structure and the code have to be rebuilt over and over again.”

Anna-Stiina Korhonen (b. 1980) is a visual artist from Helsinki. She graduated as a painter at Free Art School in Helsinki in 2021. She is a graphic designer from her previous education. Last year, Korhonen had a previous solo exhibition at the gallery of the Finnish Painters’ Union in Helsinki, and she participated in a group exhibition at the Shit Art Club gallery in Los Angeles.
– ”My paintings depict a world where a sanatorium is a place of escape. A protest to a performance-oriented culture where even relaxation is precisely programmed. In this “mindfulness workshop”, we face our own demons and negotiate with death in a bubble bath while enjoying cocktails and cigarettes.”

Ilona Niemi (b. 1975) gained her art education (MFA) in Scotland and the USA. Her works have been exhibited in group shows at the National Portrait Gallery in London, Gescheidle gallery in Chicago, Turku Art Museum and the Royal Scottish Academy, among others. Niemi has had solo shows in the Art Museums of Joensuu and Salo, and various other venues in Finland and abroad. Her works are included in the collections of Espoo Modern Art Museum EMMA, the RSA, and the art museums of Salo, Joensuu and Rauma.
– ”Inspired by literature, mythology and fashion, I explore the human condition through human-animal hybrids. This is an age-old subject in art: the Lascaux caves included a drawing of a bird-headed person, and mythologies teem with human-animal creatures. I approach this topic from today’s perspective, often depicting rare or endangered species. In my work, I translate my often somber subject matter into a heartfelt celebration of life.”

Jesse Avdeikov is a visual artist working in the mediums of painting, embroidery, writing and installation. His works stem from an autobiographical place and address themes such as friendship, different lifestyles, the importance of enjoyment, loneliness as well as birth and death. He is inspired by YouTube-videos, the classic art of painting, dogs, feelings and the absurd aspects of life.
–”My latest works are so called thread paintings, in which I apply my abilities as a painter to do embroidery. Speaking about feelings is hard, as a visual artist I often think how words and writing is not always the strongest method of self expression. Lately I’ve been seeking to express feelings in the form of art.”

Eeva Honkanen (b.1983) graduated as a Master of Arts from the Aalto University - School of Arts, Design, and Architecture in 2010. Eeva has exhibited internationally with group and solo shows in Finland, Germany, Denmark, Portugal, and the U.S. Honkanen’s work has in recent years been supported by e.g. The Finnish Cultural Foundation, Arts Promotion Centre Finland, and Frame Contemporary Art Finland.
–”The works encourage humans to rethink their position and abandon the notion that they are the ”crowns of creation”. Under the seemingly chaotic surface of my work lies a deep interest in the essence of human nature and the impact of small decisions and events on life and the future. Influenced by painters such as Hieronymus Bosch, I create and expresses intense emotions through both beauty and horror.”



Who are you to Judge Me? – Anna-Stiina Korhonen


My Father And His Best Friend – Jesse Avdeikov