Viljami Heinonen: Unfolding of the Light
Galerie Forsblom 18.8.–10.9.2023
Nature plays a focal role in Viljami Heinonen’s (b.1986) recent paintings, which depict human-made structures overrun by teeming organic life forms. The merging of exact geometry and flowy organic forms creates compositional tension, seamlessly blending indoor and outdoor spaces in a paradoxical tangle. With nature dominating in the spotlight, human figures are consigned to a passive, lesser role. Heinonen freely allows nature to swallow up the entire picture plane and the world of his paintings. Their atmosphere is nevertheless optimistic and hopeful.
The same theme is picked up in the material contrasts of Heinonen’s paintings. His expressive brushwork is physical and playful, and although the performative act of painting itself remains unseen by the audience, traces of the artist’s spontaneous gestures are clearly visible both in the content and on the surface of the canvas. Heinonen’s compelling expressivity endows his work with a powerful presence. Spatiality is strongly accented in his compositions: the angles are unruly, and yet they obey the rules of central perspective, while the illusion of spatiality serves purely as a stage upon which the rule-bending organic elements engage in free play. When all elements are merged together, the result is endlessly intriguing on multiple levels.
Heinonen graduated from Kankaanpää Art School in 2012. He has taken part in group exhibitions at venues including Pori Art Museum and Rovaniemi Art Museum. His work is represented in collections including Helsinki Art Museum HAM, Saastamoinen Foundation, Pori Art Museum, Wihuri Art Foundation, and the State Art Deposit Collection. The artist is based in Vesilahti.