ERNO ENKENBERGCosmos 15.3.2014 – 13.4.2014

Edwin Hubble, 2013
oil on canvas
100 x 75 cm

ERNO ENKENBERG

Scientists the world over study our surrounding reality. They look afar and gather data that provide answers to such questions as who are we and where are we. Perhaps some day they will even find an answer to the question why are we.

Erno Enkenberg´s new series of paintings does not seek to answer any such questions. Instead, it portrays the process of searching and finding. With astronomy as his theme, Enkenberg depicts a series of scientists and research institutions. What comes across in the works is a sense of interest and admiration. The pictures are precise observations, and at the same time tributes. Studying and solving the riddles of the universe have traditionally been the realm of scientists and priests, while artists have interpreted their explanations, using them to create art, mostly religious in nature. Considering the predominance of the scientific view of the world today, it is natural to paint pictures of a worldview that is very different from ancient ecclesiastical paintings and biblical illustrations.

The works are created using a method that Enkenberg has been employing for the past few years. First, he constructs a three-dimensional scale model made of paper, which he photographs from several different angles. He then chooses a suitable image and uses it to paint a canvas that meticulously reproduces the aesthetics of the scale model. Enkenberg is a meticulous observer who paints what he sees. However, what he observes is not the subject, but the method of its depiction. This creates a meta-level in the works that is difficult to rationalise. It establishes a mysterious mood and depicts the subject as comprising many stages, unreal pictures of reality.

Of the two principal directions in contemporary painting, Enkenberg´s works represent the more controlled one. They neither flirt with spontaneity nor stray into expressionism. They are not a vehicle for emotional expression, but a method for elucidating ideas.

Veikko Halmetoja

The book Erno Enkenberg - Manual, which extensively showcases his work between 2002 and 2014, will be published in conjunction with the exhibition.

 
  • enkenberg/2014/Johannes-Kepler_netti

    Johannes Kepler, 2014
    Oil on canvas
    100 x 75 cm

  • enkenberg/2014/Klaudios-Ptolemaios_netti

    Klaudios Ptolemaios, 2014
    Oil on canvas
    100 x 75 cm

  • enkenberg/2014/William-Herschel_netti

    William Herschel, 2014
    Oil on canvas
    100 x 75 cm

  • enkenberg/2014/Isaac-Newton_netti

    Isaac Newton, 2014
    Oil on canvas
    100 x 75 cm

  • enkenberg/2014/Mashco-Piro-II_netti

    Mashco-Piro II, 2014
    Oil on canvas
    210 x 160 cm

  • enkenberg/2014/Mascho-PiroIII_netti

    Mashco-Piro III, 2014
    Oil on canvas
    210 x 160 cm

  • enkenberg/2014/Paranal_netti

    Cerro Paranal, 2013
    Oil on canvas
    210 x 210 cm

  • enkenberg/2014/Canis-Major_netti

    Canis Major, 2014
    Oil on canvas
    160 x 130 cm

  • enkenberg/2014/Deep-Field_netti

    Deep field, 2013
    oil on canvas
    160 x 130 cm

  • enkenberg/2014/Revolutionbus_netti

    Revolutionbus, 2014
    Oil on canvas
    100 x 100 cm

  • enkenberg/2014/Supernova-SN1997-cd_netti

    Supernova (SN 1997cd), 2014
    Oil on canvas
    160 x 130 cm

  • enkenberg/2014/Very-large-telescope_Kueyen_netti

    Kueyen, 2013
    Oil on canvas
    210 x 210 cm

  • enkenberg/2014/Abell-1689_netti

    Abell 1689, 2014
    Oil on canvas
    150 x 150 cm

  • enkenberg/2014/Hubble_netti

    Hubble, 2013
    Oil on canvas
    130 x 160 cm

  • enkenberg/2014/Mashco-Piro_netti

    Mashco-Piro I, 2013
    Oil on canvas
    160 x 230 cm

  • enkenberg/2014/De-Stella-Nova_netti

    De Stella Nova, 2013
    Oil on canvas
    160 x 230 cm

 
 
 
 
 
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