At the beginning of summer I had a wonderful trip in the Turku archipelago all the way out to UTÖ. A little rain, but otherwise a very nice trip. Painting items found here and there, but chose to wait for the execution.
Tallinn art trip I canceled when I got sick and Midsummer was ruined in the process, too. The group exhibition with seven other artists opened at Gallery 4-kuus right after Midsummer. I had eleven small paintings on display there.
Then I headed to Stockholm, where I ventured underground into a mine before continuing to the Stockholm Archipelago for dinner. The walls of the mine were full of color, and the whole underground experience gave my imagination plenty of fuel. The sea views in the archipelago were wonderfully picturesque.
My next trip took me to Mänttä, where I first visited the Serlachius museums to see historic art, works by Anish Kapoor, Anssi Kasitonni, Viljami Heinonen, and many others. It was an incredibly inspiring collection of art.
I was so fascinated that I would have loved to stay longer, but the bus had its schedule, and it was time to continue to the Mänttä Art Festival at the former Pekilo factory. There, the Executive Director, Sampsa Virkajärvi, gave a guided introduction to the exhibition. His presentation greatly helped me understand the works, and many of the ideas and artistic intentions behind them were pure manna to me.
Exhibition curator Leena Kuumolan presentation was interesting and even better was to read what she is interested in: ”of interest to most it, how in the art of scarce, too, the expression it is possible to get out rich meanings – and how removing can get a number of more time than adding.”
In my life I have often taken the impossible challenges and my mind was the quote in his presentation: ”I have always been fascinated by, so as a writer, gallerist even, that which is impossible. I think art should always strive for the impossible towards. Therefore, it is a pity that the number of art for the public to provide just that, which we identified already. Only the saw was, however, the opportunity to create something that would bring the viewer insight, that such fronts can be the reality of the experience, she explains.”
What stayed with me from the Visual Arts Festival was the idea of seeing the unseen and the delicate grasses. I took a photograph of grasses growing on the walls of Olavinlinna Castle.
At the Savonlinna Opera Festival, I experienced a different kind of art in Madama Butterfly. The magnificent castle and the superb opera made it an unforgettable experience.
Most recently, I visited Joensuu, where I stopped by the local museum and saw a beautiful headdress. Several steamships were on display at the harbor. I sat down on a bench beside a statue and jokingly felt embarrassed that I wasn't wearing a necklace, while she was.
So, that was my summer in a nutshell, but other exciting things have happened as well. I was accepted as a member of the Akvart Gallery Cooperative, which means I'll be exhibiting there in the future. My next exhibitions will be at the Cable Factory and at the Habitare Fair. You're warmly welcome to come and see the exhibitions!