From Form to Surface at Vantaa Art Museum Artsi, Finland

From Form to Surface is on view at Vantaa Art Museum Artsi, Finland

September 18, 2020 – January 17, 2021

From Form to Surface explores sustainable development, climate change, and humankind’s relationship with consumption and materials through contemporary art.

Artists from Finland and Russia take a stand on social injustices, humanity’s complex relationship with nature, and being in the world.

What is humanity’s place in the world and its role in shaping it?

Johanna Rytkölä’s set of abstract works Dipping into the Summer Night takes the viewer into a summer lakescape or into the depths of outer space. The enormous Shout by Pekka Paikkari – known for his monumental works – wavers between hope and despair. Åsa Hellman’s works lead exhibition visitors to a place of quiet in the forest. Kirsi Kivivirta’s harmonious wallworks invite contemplation. The expressions and gestures of Tommi Toija’s now-trademark human figures portray the intricacies of being human. The human figure is also central to Maisa Majakka’s works. Her ceramic sculptures and wall reliefs are rooted in the interfaces between childhood and adulthood, and in human interaction.

From Form to Surface is showing something rarely seen in Finland – Russian contemporary sculpture. Natalia Khlebtsevich’s installation imitates the aesthetic of traditional western museum collections, but instead of ancient relics, on display here is household waste, such as dishcloths and sponges, encapsulated in ceramic. On closer inspection, the artist duo CrocodilePOWER’s striking sculptures that stimulate the imagination are also made out of everyday objects. Annouchka Brochet puts feminism centre stage in her art as she takes a critical look at consumer ideology and the manipulations of power. For From Form to Surface she constructs a network of dozens of colourful ceramic brains.

The exhibition is accompanied by a tri-lingual catalogue (Finnish, Russian, English), with profiles of the artists and an essay by the philosopher-writer Antti Salminen on the ontological crisis of sustainable development.

The artists: Annouchka Brochet, CrocodilePOWER, Åsa Hellman, Natalia Khlebtsevich, Kirsi Kivivirta, Maisa Majakka, Pekka Paikkari, Johanna Rytkölä, Olga and Oleg Tatarintsev, and Tommi Toija and Elena Yudina.

Contact
artsi@vantaa.fi

Vantaa Art Museum Artsi
Myyrmäkitalo, Paalutori 3
01600 Vantaa
Finland

Photos by Anna Autio