ANSSI TÖRRÖNENPaintings 9.2.2013 – 10.3.2013
Artist Anssi Törrönen has based his large-scale
paintings on observations of temporary shelters and huts in forests or
discovered at the edges of sunny beaches. Törrönen has not made sketches of his
observations; instead he has used a camera as a means of recording the subject.
Photographs have functioned loosely as starting points and blueprints for the
paintings. During the work process, these starting points have given rise to
multilevel paintings which can be viewed from the perspective of the history of
painting, the multilayered nature of time, home and shelter, as well as from a
social perspective.
In Anssi Törrönen´s paintings realistic elements,
structures of huts and hired tarpaulins are interspersed with influences from
expressionism, abstract painting and informalism. A similar overlap and
co-existence can also be seen in the temporal stratification of the paintings.
Behind a temporary hut is the top of a birch tree of picture postcard beauty,
which might be regarded as a symbol of a permanent home. In the Finnish fairy
tale the birch and the star guided the children home. The narrative elements in
the paintings: an upturned pot, benches on a sunny beach or a baseball cap
bring yet more layers to the paintings.
The intimacy and serenity of the smaller paintings in
the exhibition brings balance to the exhibition as a whole. This makes me
direct my attention also to the serenity of the older paintings, despite their
multilayered nature. The tranquility calls attention to an important aspect;
when looking at the paintings, it is not only the eye and the mind that require
time; rather all sensations are physical and it is just that the eyes and the
"head" have been assigned the most important experiencer roles.
Kari Alatalo