Galerie Anhava Mannerheiminaukio 3 FIN-0010 Helsinki Finlande
The autumn season at Galerie Anhava begins with ”CONTEMPORARY NOW!" displaying works by five artists. It will present topical art of various kinds that is literally being made at the present moment by young, or not so old, artists of different countries and continents. They are all interesting and good artists in their own ways, and I am certain that we will hear more about them in the future.
Joseph L. James (born 1979 in the United States) is currently completing his Master of Arts degree at the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki. James works with monochrome paper or multicoloured posters, drawing complex designs on the back of the paper and cutting out what is not needed. He then mounts these papercuts either individually or on top of each other to hang freely against a wall or stand, or in the air. His works can be stylized human figures, urban landscapes or completely abstract compositions. They are beautiful, fascinating and fresh.
Discovered: In the Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts after a boring round of looking at exhibitions in Helsinki.
Shoji Kato (born 1969 in Japan) is in the doctoral studies programme of the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki. Kato makes drawings, large watercolours and tempera paintings, from which he removes the designs from the top layer of paint with a sharp knife. His works bear a distant resemblance to aerial photographs of architecture taken from a distance and from different directions. They do not, however, bear any testimony to reality, for they are entities created and composed solely by the artist himself that prove to be completely abstract upon closer observation. Kato's works are ethereal and charming, and there are endless things to see in them.
Discovered: In Gallery Huuto in Uudenmaankatu street in Helsinki.
Antti Laitinen (born 1975 in Finland) makes photographs, videos and performances, constructs islands and conceptual objects, digs and documents, and rows with icebergs. He is a latter-day reflection of the Elonkorjaajat (Harvesters) artist group of the 1970s. Hardly any technique is unknown to him and he can go off and spend four days on an island, naked, trying to catch fish and eating ants. But Laitinen's works aren't freewheeling semi-hippie association, and are instead planned in detail, carefully considered and executed, and formally sound.
Discovered: Antti Laitinen was discovered by my colleagues Hanna Huuskonen and Piia Oksanen.
NUG makes videos with political statements. Two of them will be displayed at Galerie Anhava. In "Territorial Pissing" a young graffiti artist sprays undulating markings on a moving Stockholm underground train carriage. It is a dance-like performance or a bit like endless movement in the manner of tai chi. The other passengers, unmoving and completely passive, are a contrast to the dancing hero. Black and white is well suited to the other aesthetic aspects of the piece. The other video shows an underground train carriage with sprayings by the same artist.
Discovered: At the Gallery Brandström department of the Market Art Fair.
Mikael Richter (born 1963 in Sweden) makes, among other works, pieces resembling traffic signs that may be transformations of existing signs and completely unique works that are made in the same manner as traffic signs. While Richter's works may be amusing, ironic or serious, they always contain a point that makes the viewer think. How are we steered? What are the properties with which images and words create reality? These works have of course a relationship with pop art, but also with art in the manner of On Kawara. For this exhibition I chose a sign that is well suited to the present international situation, with the text in Swedish "Allt kommer att bli bra", in other words "Everything will be fine."
Discovered: In the Andersson-Sandström Gallery.