Oceanic Waves
Holland and the Nordics
21 August-16 September 2006
Participating Artists: Steven Aalders, Frank Van den Broeck, Peter Rune Christiansen, Joris Geurts, Esko Männikkö, Pär Strömberg, Claire Todd.
Curated by: Karel Ankerman,Kaapelitehdas Puristamo
Tallberginkatu 1, C-staircase 1st.floor, Helsinki
Hosted by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the City of Helsinki Cultural Office.
While the Dutch engineer the sea, the Danes battle the sea, the Swedes sing a hymn to pacify the sea and the Finnish take refreshment from the cool waters which surround them. Waterways, oceans and seas cover seventy-five percent of our planet. A natural reflective surface where earliest man saw his own image for the first time. The waves are harbouring an abundance of life, carrying hopes and conscious dreams of a new life in a promised land. The vessel of the self is the body which is sixty percent water, temporal and fragile it is rocked by the elements. Through the stillness and open invitation of the exhibition space, one may agree that the sea is an embodiment of the collective unconscious.
The artists who participate in Oceanic Waves use different styles and techniques but they have one thing in common: the elements of water, sky and light are the thorough line through the exhibition.
Steven Aalders (1959, Holland) is the Seawall, he divides the land and the sea with his grid paintings in the style of Mondriaan and in the colors of the 17th century Dutch masters. In his work he attempts to embody the essence: the creation of light and space with paint. Aalders shows paintings from his last series, entitled Ultima Thule, inspired by this mythic, remote most Nordic island.
Frank Van den Broeck (1955, Holland) is the Liminal and represents the in between space and the point where the sea meets the sky. He creates works in an associative and intuitive way and strives for a controlled coincidence. Van den Broeck has from the early eighties on been working steadily and consistently on his highly individual oeuvre.
Joris Geurts (1958, Holland) is the Horizon, painting and cutting wood in a perpetual dawn. His approach leads to a combination of painted passages, printed patches and open spaces. Above all he is a colourist who creates paintings and woodcuts in which space, light and colour predominate.
Claire Todd (1971, Holland) draws and photographs Companions at Sea, the provision of others to anchor the time. Her drawings can be read as a handwritten scenario in which a dialogue between different persons takes place. The ceramic works are often site-specific, evoking human need for roots, rhythm and surrender in form. A recurring theme in her works is the symbol of drawn or photographed opened hands.
Peter Rune Christiansen (1978, Denmark) is The Navigator who is influenced by theosophy, romanticism and fluxus. His work decodes and creates new complex and unpredictable systems. Christiansens paintings can be seen as musical scores or topographical landscapes that develop in vivid ways and contains deep layers of information in spite of their delicate appearance.
Pär Strömberg (1971, Sweden) is the Magician waking the moonlight in the forest depths. His paintings have developed into a registration of the landscape of his native country Sweden. The beauty and freedom it speaks about, has an ever so underlying threatening side. In his latest work he has also shown an interest in occult rites and myths of the pagan in heritage and folklore tales of the vast and dense landscape of the North.
Esko Männikkö (1959, Finland) is the Fisherman landing his catch from the waterfront. The artist photographs the landscape and the elderly bachelors in remote areas of his native Finland and exhibits them all over the world. In his works he shows the individual the way they are without the slightest manipulation. As a result every image is as different as the people photographed. Männikkö will make a new series of ten large panoramic landscape pictures for this exhibition.
A publication, including a guide to the works on display will accompany this exhibition and will be available at Kaapeli Puristamo Hall.
Kaapeli Cable Factory
Open Mo.-Fri. 11.00 7 pm
Sat.-Sun 11.00 6 pm
Phone: 358 9 47638330
Info: www.netherlands.fi
