Tero Laaksonen 6.2. - 28.2.2010

Curriculum Vitae (.pdf)

Asia, Poseidon’s Temple and blue porcelain

Passion and glow, vitality and awareness are the subjects of my yearning.

A brilliant starry night in the Pamir Mountains, morning fog on the Mekong River, the red glow of the sun on the Temple of Poseidon, a blue and white porcelain plate, that brave men brought to my table 200 years ago – these are the visible subjects of my paintings. They represent brilliant, strange and terrifying voyages, expeditions and everyday mornings.

Within the atelier, however, I have no other knowledge than what I have acquired through painting.

Painting by hand – using a Renaissance-era tempera emulsion on a cross-weave canvas attached to a frame crafted by a carpenter – is not in line with the information concept of our time. How quickly have we constructed a lifestyle and time concept that flinches from recollecting and forgetting, losing and discovering.

Painting as a form of communication is a way to prepare yourself for the encounters with the new and unknown. In painting the ability to forget and lose is the road to recollecting and discovering.

The ancient virtues Prudence, Fortitude, Purity and Innocence give the belief to aspire to a clarity and openness of mind, a desire to relive the stories of the gods immortally forever, even if the wings on our backs wilt away. Beauty, a beautiful life is not an external expression of grace but a striving, an obligation to be on the side of good, no matter how fragile or weak it is.

Tero Laaksonen

Tero Laaksonen (born 1953) is one of the most known contemporary Finnish painters. His paintings lead the viewer along the path of recollecting and forgetting on a quiet journey to the original sources of beauty. Tero Laaksonen’s long career as an artist is entering its fifth decade already. Throughout the decades Laaksonen has mounted countless private exhibitions and participated in a large number of group exhibitions both in Finland and abroad. His works are included in all major Finnish collections, and he has received three 5-year state grants for artists. Tero Laaksonen was awarded the Order of the Lion of Finland – Pro Finlandia Medal in 2003.

The exhibition is made possible in part by a grant from the Niilo Helander Foundation.

 

Artemis, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 210 x 160 cm	Mars, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 210 x 160 cm
Afrodite (Aphrodite), 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 210 x 160 cm	Diànthus, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 160 x 140 cm
Trivia, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 160 x 140 cm	Apollon & Helios, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 160 x 140 cm
Acànthus, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 140 x 100 cm	Linné, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 140 x 100 cm
Orangerie, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 140 x 100 cm	Ottilia, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 140 x 100 cm
Kanton, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 100 x 120 cm	Kuang-chou, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 100 x 120 cm
Panyu, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 100 x 120 cm	Eos, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 40 x 50 cm
Janus, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 40 x 50 cm	Augustus, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 40 x 50 cm
Chang Cheng, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 40 x 50 cm	Iunius, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 40 x 50 cm
Aprilis, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 40 x 50 cm	Alope, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 40 x 50 cm
Maius, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 40 x 50 cm	Khloe, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 40 x 50 cm
Chrysanthemum, 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 40 x 50 cm	Pakeneva Apollo (Escaping Apollo), 2009 tempera and oil on canvas 160 x 210 cm