Samuli Heimonen 3.10. – 25.10.2009
“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”
The name of the exhibition is taken from the lyrics of Leonard Cohen’s song Anthem. I have interpreted the phrases freely and translated them as “Kaikessa on murtumansa” (“There is a crack in everything”).
Completeness is unnecessary. Fracture, distortion, breakage is unavoidable. Things as well as people often contain cracks; it makes them fascinating. Sometimes the crack is at the surface and sometimes it is hidden. It always however comes out in the end.
I have thought of a crack as a kind of way to get inside things. It provides a small pathway in an otherwise perfect surface. The purpose of the exhibition is to reveal overlapping structures and seek one’s way inside those that are closely guarded.
The paintings depict situations in which light shines from a crack inside, revealing something that has been previously hidden. Many paintings motivate a desire to see the whole truth. Often matters cannot be seen in their entirety. Some remain buried or concealed beneath the surface. In reality only the tip of the iceberg is visible to the naked eye. I have imagined certain paintings as depicting the entire iceberg. How it would look and whether it could be ever fully understood.
The fracture theme is also associated with the concept of inside and outside. In many of the paintings, the animals have nooks and doors, through which can be seen an unexpected interior. Inside and outside are always in a state of tension in people. Somewhere there is however a channel for viewing one’s inside, private life.
Interfaces are also important in the exhibition. In the images, I searched for the limits formed between inside and outside, the known and the unknown, the subconscious and awareness. At all the borders there is some kind of gate or valve that balances the pressures or tensions between the two worlds.
I have conceived the paintings more as questions than answers. They are also suggestions as to whether it could be this way or that way. An animal is a stage on which thoughts are presented.
Samuli Heimonen
In the year 2008 artist Samuli Heimonen (b. 1975) was chosen as Young Artist of the Year. Saarijärvi-born Heimonen, who is nowadays living and working in Kangasniemi, has become known for his paintings of animal figures with many dimensions. Animal figures can also be found in Heimonen’s most recent output, in which the theme is fracture, border, the unavoidable crack that breaks the surface of the seemingly perfect, making it fascinating and humane. Samuli Heimonen’s art studies began at the Orivesi College of Arts in 1994; subsequently he studied at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki and graduated with a Master of Arts degree in 2002. Samuli Heimonen has mounted several solo exhibitions since 2000 and in 2003 he received the Honorary Medal of the Tapper Brothers Art Society.
At the artist event at Galleria Heino on Sunday 18 October from 1 to 3 pm, Samuli Heimonen will present his exhibition “There is a Crack in Everything” and discuss his art. Welcome!
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For you II, 2009 |
For you, 2009 |
The Aviator, 2009 |
On the border, 2009 |
Language barrier, 2009 |
Claw, 2009 |
Hiding place, 2009 |
With my own eyes, 2009 |
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Wind, 2009 |
Thousand hands, 2009 |
Gratitude flies away, 2009 |
The Collector, 2009 |
Song, 2009 |
Flower, 2009 |
There’s a crack in everything, 2009 |
Private sky, 2009 |
Searcher, 2009 |
Shared history, 2009 |
For you III, 2009 |
Jump, 2009 |
Capital, 2009
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