Events

Welcome to meet the artist Ville Löppönen at Helsinki Contemporary on Tuesday, May 21




Ville Löppönen will discuss the themes behind his exhibition Interventions, on view at Helsinki Contemporary till June 2.

The title of the exhibition is a reference to painting getting involved in everyday life; the works portray family life and the closeness of presence. There is much that is new, not only in the colours used, but also in the form of the works: the mode of expression runs from being powerfully figurative in a more abstract, expressive direction.

In works that have almost Baroque atmospheres Löppönen brings out and awakens in viewers an experience easily forgotten in today’s tempo, of the importance and beauty of our own everyday lives. The paintings attempt to show that beauty and sanctity – love – can be found close to, right here. In the exhibition individual experiences extend to become universal and shared.

"Painting itself can be very enjoyable and comfortable. It makes it easier to handle challenging issues and offers a meaningful route to humbleness, that is, the opportunity to encounter and be present. The painter can be theirself here and now, without moralism or the pressure of rules and constraints. The painter can move away, if necessary, or step into the shadows, then return to look slowly from a distance. This manifests the beauty of the painting and shows how beauty is an important part of the painter’s work. It encourages and produces pleasure at the same time as one looks critically at oneself, and from oneself too. Or one can just look and let the gaze do its work, a conversation that leads to the aforementioned trialogue. This allows the painting and painter to develop and grow. It’s a pleasure that supports and hopefully creates virtues: empathy, compassion, encountering, presence. That is, love."

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