Book launch: Kristiina Uusitalo

Welcome - come and explore the new book and exhibition celebrating artist Kristiina Uusitalo´s work
at Galleria Heino between 6 and 8 pm on 8 January 2015.

New book on Kristiina Uusitalo sheds light on thirty-year artistic career

Parvs Publishing and Galleria Heino are delighted to announce the publication of a new book focusing on the art of Kristiina Uusitalo (b. 1959). The richly illustrated 184-page title is the most comprehensive to date, covering her art and career and incorporates two essays by art historians Björn Springfeldt (b.1941) and Juha-Heikki Tihinen (b.1973).

Kristiina Uusitalo is one of the most high-profile Finnish artists, whose latest public artwork, Valon varassa, was unveiled at Malmi Hospital in 2014. The artist made her debut in 1977 and, today, her works are included in all major Finnish art museum collections as well as a large number of private collections both in Finland and further afield. She was granted Finland´s State Prize for Visual Arts in 2008.

Uusitalo is known for her idiosyncratic approach to her work. Her art offers a sweeping commentary on historic and contemporary art world phenomena, addressing issues such as visibility, national landscapes and the opportunities available within the medium of painting. She opts to use a multitude of methods, which she has always employed consistently in keeping with her own artistic expression and praxis.

Björn Springfeldt writes of Uusitalo: "Her images convey a sense energy and speak of the permanence of change, the ongoing shifting of states. Often, we find ourselves blinded, like when we look directly at the sun and everything turns to black. Or we come across a reflection that breaches a boundary, both within the space of the image and the space in which we ourselves exist." Uusitalo is an interpreter of the unexpected and the momentous, her works reaching out to both our intellect and our emotions.

Juha-Heikki Tihinen