PETRI HYTÖNENPaintings 29.10.2005 – 20.11.2005

Using both traditional brushes and spray painting techniques in his watercolours, artist Petri Hytönen (b. 1963) has received much attention in the Finnish world of art in recent years. At his extensive exhibition at the Amos Anderson Art Museum in Helsinki in autumn 2004, Hytönen displayed his first works based on large inkjet printouts. The artist takes his own photographs and processes them with Photoshop on computer to "wipe clear" an empty space, where he paints after making a paper print of the photo. The exhibition in 2004 marked the beginning of a new path for Hytönen, who now takes the approach further with new works and motifs. The series is entitled "Spirit and flesh".

The name refers to Petri Hytönen´s own experiences of physical ageing. As the artist approaches middle age, he feels his art registers the spiritual world in a more pronounced manner than before through various images and moods - and both directly and indirectly.

Petri Hytönen and his wife Marika Kaarna (b.1966) are holding simultaneous private exhibitions at the gallery. Marika Kaarna´s work is characterised by her distinctive and individualistic hand; her oil paintings give the impression of naive art, yet rise above naivist depictions of everyday life to take on universal and timeless qualities.

The imagery in the works of Petri Hytönen and Marika Kaarna - who are parents of three - reflects the imagination, stories, games and dreams of children. Both artists are multi-dimensional storytellers. Their works also have a gloriously picturesque quality to them: for Hytönen, the effect comes from moods created by light, from shades of purple and surfaces soft as cotton, while Kaarna uses intensely glowing colours reminiscent of mindscapes.

Rauli Heino