New Wave Finland: Contemporary Photography from the Helsinki School @Scandinavia House

JTF (just the facts): A group show containing the work of nine artists/photographers, curated by Timothy Persons and Pari Stave. The works are displayed in a series of three connected galleries, with an entry space and an adjacent video viewing room, all located on the third floor of the building. (Installation shots at right.)

The following artists/photographers have been included in the exhibit, with image details for each in parentheses:

• Pasi Autio (1 HD video, displayed on a small screen, 2012)
• Joakim Eskildsen (12 pigment prints, both large and small sizes, framed in white and unmatted, 2011)
• Tiina Itkonen (3 pigment prints, unframed, 2002-2012)
• Hannu Karjalainen (1 HD video, displayed directly on the wall, 2009)
• Kalle Kataila (5 large pigment prints, framed in white and unmatted, 2004-2009)
• Anni Leppälä (10 pigment prints of various sizes, framed in white and unmatted, 2004-2012)
• Niko Luoma (2 large c-prints, unframed, 2010)
• Riita Päiväläinen (3 large c-prints, unframed, 2005)
• Mikko Sinervo (1 set of 24 small c-prints and 1 large c-print, unframed, 2008-2009)

Comments/Context: While there are many universities and art schools around the world with strong programs in photography, the Helsinki School is certainly one that would be on many people's short list of the most innovative. Unfortunately for those of us in New York, we only get to see the work of the school's graduates intermittently, as most of the artists/photographers lack American gallery representation, making survey shows like this one are all the more important as they give us a quick sampler of what has been going on since we last checked in.

 

At least to my eye, this exhibit does a nice job of mixing work from familiar and unfamiliar names, juxtaposing photographs from some of the more established graduates with those of upcoming and emerging artists. In the past, two of the hallmarks of Helsinki School photography were dynamic conceptual underpinnings and an affinity for glossy, object quality presentation, and these two facets of the overall approach are still very much evident in the most recent output of its students. Mikko Sinervo probes the process of visual perception via fuzzy candy colored abstract orbs that mimic the afterimage effects of looking at light. Riita Päiväläinen places discarded clothing into natural scenes, creating ethereal installations that play with texture and motion; the patterns of black and white dresses snow get lost in the tangle of snow covered branches. And Niko Luoma's massive linear abstractions throb with electric energy.

 

Another group of artists stay one step closer to photographic tradition, keeping figures present and opting for standard white framing. Kalle Kataila's works echo 19th century Romantic paintings, with tiny lone figures perching in the foreground, looking out at the wonder of snowy waterfalls, frozen oceans, or vast green valleys. Anni Leppälä creates mysterious fairy tale narratives, where a red ribbon turns into smoke, a young girl peers behind a curtain, and two stockinged feet hang ominously from the rafters of a boat cabin. And Joakim Eskildsen stays closer to home, with quiet, intimate images of his young children wedged next to a fridge, walking down yellow leafed forest paths, and running underneath a rainbow in the greenery of an overgrown garden. Even the video work on view seems firmly rooted in photographic thinking, with Pasi Autio's treatise on walking illustrated by a single figure moving with nearly imperceptible slowness while the rest of the surrounding street scene moves at normal speed.

 

It's clear from this show that the Helsinki School is consistently churning out plenty of accomplished contemporary photographers. Smart exhibits like this one can certainly help increase their exposure in America, but I for one would like to see their collective work shown here more often, so we can consider their ideas and influence with less delay. New York gallery owners, it's time to get going and book that long overdue trip to Helsinki.

 

Collector's POV: Since this effectively a museum exhibit, there are no posted prices for the works on view. All of the artists are represented by the Gallery TAIK (here) in Finland, which is part of the Helsinki School. Niko Luoma is also represented in New York by Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery (here).

 

Rating: * (one star) GOOD (rating system described here)

 

Transit Hub:

• Helsinki School/Gallery TAIK site (here)
• Pasi Autio school page (here)
• Joakim Eskildsen artist site (here)
• Tiina Itkonen artist site (here)
• Hannu Karjalainen artist site (here)
• Kalle Kataila artist site (here)
• Anni Leppälä artist site (here)
• Niko Luoma artist site (here)
• Riita Päiväläinen school page (here)
• Mikko Sinervo school page (here)

New Wave Finland: Contemporary Photography from the Helsinki School

Through April 6th

 

Scandinavia House

58 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10016

The Helsinki School - Seven Approaches @Wolkowitz

JTF (just the facts): A group show containing a total of 27 contemporary works by 7 different artists from the Helsinki School, hung in the entry, hallway, and back gallery spaces. (Installation shots at right.)

The following photographers have been included in the show; the number of images on view and their details are as follows:

• Joonas Alhava: 4 c-prints, Diasec mounted, all from 2006, either 74x59 or 49x40, all in editions of 5.
• Hannu Karjalainen: 3: c-prints, Diasec mounted, all from 2009, each 59x47, in editions of 5.
• Pertti Kekarainen: 2 c-prints, Diasec mounted, from 2004 and 2008, 77x49 and 77x71 respectively, both in editions of 5.
• Ola Kolehmainen: 2 c-prints, Diasec mounted, from 2006 and 2009, both roughly 80x105, in editions of 6.
• Anni Leppälä: 13 c-prints on aluminum, made between 2007 and 2010, in various sizes ranging from 8x11 to 43x32 (hung as a group salon style), all in editions of 7.
• Niko Luoma: 1 c-print, Diasec mounted, made in 2009, 67x55, in an edition of 5.
• Susanna Majuri: 2 c-prints, Diasec mounted, made in 2009, each 35x53, in editions of 5.

Comments/Context: In the past few years, I've read quite a bit about the high quality contemporary photographers coming out of the Helsinki School in Finland, but until this show (and its siblings at the Armory and AIPAD), there hasn't been any real opportunity to see the work in person in New York, at least in any significant quantity.

While it is perhaps foolish to attempt to draw sweeping conclusions from such a small sample of photographers, my takeaway is that the Helsinki School has absorbed many of the important lessons from Düsseldorf (large prints with glossy Diasec mounting, leading to a tangible "art" object quality on the wall, rather than the trappings of "old" photography), and applied them in a style less rooted in rigorous documentation, but altogether more loosely conceptual in nature. To the extent there are people or buildings in these images, they have been placed there with precision and premeditation; there are no "decisive moments" or chance events happening here. Each project is built on a foundation of challenging ideas: careful and tightly controlled explorations of photography and its relationship to perception, space, light, storytelling, and memory.

I particularly enjoyed Niko Luoma's image from his series Symmetrium, with its dense intersecting plaid of red and green lines, as once again (see the discussion of Thomas Ruff's recent show here), we are seeing a photographer using mathematical systems to consider the non-traditional boundaries of composition. And while I have written about Ola Kolehmainen's architectural images before (here), I think I saw and understood them more clearly in person; his work seems to be evolving away from crisp documentation of patterns toward something more minimal and obscure, using blurs and color to create more amorphous abstractions.

In truth, I found something of interest in all the bodies of work on display, from Joonas Ahlava's silhouettes to Pertti Kekarainen's spotted spaces, and from Hannu Karjarlainen's people covered in rubbery paint to Anni Leppälä's fragments of childhood memories and Susanna Majuri's ambiguous narratives. We see so much of a certain kind of American contemporary photography on display in this city (particularly narrative and emotive portraiture) that I think this work from the Helsinki School feels surprisingly fresh and different, with a bit more European (or Scandinavian) distance and intellectualism. As a sampler of photography with an alternate point of view, it's a terrific palate cleanser.

Collector's POV: The prices for the works in this show are as follows:

• Joonas Ahlava: $10000 for the smaller print, $19000 for the larger ones
• Hannu Karjalainen: $12500 or $13500
• Pertti Kekarainen: $14000 or $18000
• Ola Kolehmainen: $25000 or $31000
• Anni Leppälä: a range from $3000 to $6500
• Niko Luoma: $14000
• Susanna Majuri: $9500 each

While a few of Ola Kolehmainen's prints have begun to trickle into the secondary markets, for the most part, the work of these artists is not yet consistently available at auction, so gallery retail is likely the only option for interested collectors in the short term.

Rating: * (one star) GOOD (rating system described here)

Transit Hub:

• Helsinki School (here) and TaiK (here)
• Helsinki School books by Hatje Cantz (here)

The only artist sites I could find were (add the others in the comments as appropriate):

• Anni Leppälä artist site (here)
• Niko Luoma artist site (here)

The Helsinki School - Seven Approaches
Through April 3rd

Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery
505 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10011