Tuukka Tammisaari: Obstacles Becoming Particles
Galerie Forsblom, 8.4.–9.5.2021
Tuukka Tammisaari (b. 1984) creates many-layered worlds with one foot anchored firmly in art history and the other in contemporary art. Using devices familiar from neo-expressionism and minimalism, his artistic vocabulary is a dialogue between abstraction and representationalism. The basic geometrical shapes in his paintings are destabilized by the incursion of asymmetrical organic forms that obviously evoke nature. When these mismatched forms and colors collide, the result is either jarring or perfect in its synergy. His paintings are characterized by their earthy, inflected palette and their shifting emotive content ranging from the playful to the contemplative. A new element in his work is brighter range of hues that have recently begun to appear on his canvas.
The title of the exhibition, Obstacles Becoming Particles, refers to the hurdles – whether related to form and content or personal, psychological barriers – that assume a physical, painterly form in Tammisaari’s paintings. The painter describes these obstacles and challenges as a springboard to new worlds. Just like contemporary reality, the structure of his paintings appears to be in a state of flux, as if it were on a journey somewhere. Looking closer at their connection with the external reality, Tammisaari’s paintings revealed to be sharp, sincere observations documenting his surrounding world. They deliver a commentary on what he sees and experiences around him – they are the artist’s way of telling stories and interpreting the world.
Tammisaari studied painting at Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts. He has held solo exhibitions in Helsinki, elsewhere throughout Finland, Denmark, Belgium, and New York. His work is found in collections including the Museum of Contemporary of Art Kiasma, the Leiden University Faculty of Medicine in the Netherlands, and numerous private collections in Finland, Denmark, the US, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Sweden. The artist is based in Helsinki.