Olli Lyytikäinen: Works from 1970 to 1984
Galerie Forsblom January 11–February 10, 2019
Opening January 10, 2019, 5–7PM.
Olli Lyytikäinen (1949–1987) was represented by Galerie Forsblom from 1979 until his death in 1987. This year, our gallery is proud to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the artist’s birth with an exhibition featuring the work of this leading Finnish master of painting, drawing, and photography. The painterly execution and rich palette of Lyytikäinen’s watercolors retain their freshness to this day, and his Polaroid collages – inspired by a sudden burst of interest in photography in 1980 – possess originality matching that of David Hockney, the artist widely regarded as the pioneer of this genre. Though self-taught, Lyytikäinen had a masterful command of technique, taking inspiration from a variety of sources ranging from daily life and popular iconography to contemporary art movements, primarily Pop Art and Photorealism. Lyytikäinen was ingenious in his use of symbolic imagery and in his use of art to express non-visual impressions.
During his lifetime Lyytikäinen exhibited, e.g., in the 1982 Scandinavian Today exhibition at the New York Guggenheim, and took part in the Paris Biennale in 1981 and the Venice Biennale in 1986. Since his death in 1987 his work has featured in major exhibitions at the Amos Anderson Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, the Wäinö Aaltonen Museum, Skärhamn’s Nordic Watercolour Museum and the Salo Art Museum.