Jarmo Mäkilä
Jarmo Mäkilä, Leena Nio and Reima Nevalainen take part in the group exhibition Dark Days, Bright Nights: Contemporary Paintings from Finland at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City. The exhibition, curated by Barbara O'Brien, executive director Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, explores the methods, inspirations and practice of Finnish painters.
Jarmo Mäkilä is known for his versatility and ability to evolve his artistic expression. He combines historical and contemporary elements together with rich, baroque-like expression. Currently, his expressive work has been freed and solidified, as his boy-series have travelled ever further into the three-dimensional world in the form of sculptures and installations. Within the forest scenery, finely detailed drawing combines with expressive painting, while the interiors, respectively, contain photo-like quality refinement and clear composition displaying scenes of stage play.
Leena Nio's works are characterized by an examination of space and depth. She juxtaposes spontaneous expressionism with abstract language and figurative imagery with deft detailed brushstrokes. Her new technique yields multi-layered compositions that are rich in narrative flow. The work appears to be in a state of transformation.
The art of Reima Nevalainen explores the very foundations of existence. According to him, painting is comparable to the study of anatomy and archaeology. The layers of paint are the skin of the work, the skin of the figure is the sediments of the soil. In his mixed-media works, removal and destruction are just as important as creation and adding. Nevalainen was recently awarded the Young Artist of the Year 2016 in Finland.
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
Friday, October 2, 2015 to Sunday, February 21, 2016
4420 Warwick Blvd.
Kansas City, Missouri 64111
USA
