ELINA BROTHERUSLes Femmes de la Maison Carré 9.1.2016 – 31.1.2016

Now receiving its first outing in Finland, Elina Brotherus´s (b. 1972) photographic series Les Femmes de la Maison Carré was shot in May 2015 in Bazoches-sur-Guyonne on the outskirts of Paris at Maison Louis Carré (1959), a private residence designed by Alvar Aalto. The series was first exhibited at the residence in the autumn of 2015. To mark the exhibition, Maison Louis Carré has joined forces with Galleria Heino to create a publication that features photographs from the exhibition, alongside an essay by Susanna Pettersson, Director of the Ateneum Art Museum. Pettersson says of the exhibition:

The name of the photo series, Les Femmes de la Maison Carré (Women of the Maison Carré), spurs us to solve puzzles. A person in a picture signifies a place, proposes a narrative that we as viewers instinctively begin to construct. Who are these women? Where have they come from? What era do they represent?--- Although their language is completely recognisable as hers, the starting point of the photo series is once again a new one, formed on the site. "I seek, do, find — and take pictures. I don´t interfere with the space, but the presence of people awakens it," Brotherus says.--- The pictures in Les Femmes de la Maison Carré are at once composed and natural. They are direct and mysterious. They live in this moment and in the past. They also effortlessly make use of the structure and its surroundings. In practice, Brotherus walks into one of modern architecture´s most iconic buildings and makes the experience completely her own.

Brotherus´s Tango Trousers (2015), shot at a Serlachius Museum´s residency in Mänttä, will be screened at Galleria Heino´s rear display space. It was first screened as part of the Touching from a distance -exhibition, in which nine Finnish and international video artist turned their lenses on Mänttä as outsiders, to record the city through their own vision, background and working methods. The musical score is by accordion artist Maria Kalaniemi. In her December 2015 review of the Tangohousut DVD, critic Fiona Talkington writes (Songlines #113):

Brotherus is a very thoughtful artist, intrigued by the human being's place in nature and also by the artist's relationship with her model. It is that relationship that proves the turning point, on 'Silent Lake'. Everything comes together: the grey expanse of Finnish lake, the reflection of the forest, the delicate reeds, the appearance of blue and yellow colors as Brotherus appears and then undresses to swim in the lake. It's a magical moment: you can feel the coldness of the water, feeling it move to make way for the human form. Reflections and ripples take our gaze deeper. It's a track that could go on forever. After that everything makes sense. Forests, a dead fox, a washing-line full of clothes, the orange glow of a street lamp, and the apartment block; all look poetic. We become the music; we are Kalaniemi's accordion. ---This will intrigue, challenge and delight.

Meeting with the artist Elina Brotherus at Galleria Heino on 17^th of January 2016, 1 pm - 3 pm. She will be joined by Susanna Pettersson, Director of the Ateneum Art Museum and Pauli Sivonen, Director of the Serlachius Museums.

Maria Kalaniemi and Eero Grundström will perform live music from Tangohousut at Galleria Heino on Thursday 14^th of January 2016, 6 pm. All welcome.

The artist would like to extend her sincere thanks to Asdis Olafsdottir, Director of Maison Louis Carré, the Association Alvar Aalto en France, Susanna Petterson for her essay, Pauli Sivonen, Director of the Serlachius Museums and Ville Lenkkeri, curator of the Touching from a distance -exhibition.