Raili Tang

Born in Helsinki 1950 | Lives and works in Helsinki

 

For Raili Tang, colors are more than just hues distinguished by our visual receptors: they are soul-scapes, states of mind, nuanced impressions. Colors are her passion, her gateway to specific emotions; they well up from deep within her, insisting on escaping through the tip of her paintbrush. Painting is a consciously physical process for Tang. She applies the paint intuitively, layer upon layer until she instinctively arrives at the result she desires. She wants every work to bear the imprint of its history – each layer of paint adds a new chapter, inviting a dialogue with the next layer, and so on until a narrative unfolds. It is the very physicality of painting that makes Tang keep falling in love all over again with painting and colors.

 

Tang's debut exhibition in 1981 came at a time when the Finnish art scene was just becoming international. Artists strove to escape tradition by returning sensuality and substance to painting. Tang sought the genre of abstract expressionism, whose doctrines hold that the painting itself is a feeling or experience, and not merely an image. This philosophy is still connected to Tang's work. The artist's works have been featured in exhibitions held in Finland as well as numerous international exhibitions. Her works are included in the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art and the Saastamoinen Foundation collections, among others.

 

Galerie Forsblom has been representing Raili Tang since 2005.