Exhibition together with a colleaque, artis Pentti Hakala and a student of industrial design Aatu Mäkinen in Ahku Gallery, Saarijärvi until 7.7.2024.
Simo's input is a project with artesan students from Gradia, Jyväskylä, resulting two sofas, three chairs and a cabinet. Beside those some new items like a food lamp 'Paiste', made of symbal, copper and brass and the door handles of curly birch.
Left: Children in evil, 1988; Right: Jewellery box, 1992
Curated by Teija Isohauta
Two years project in working with artist Ulla Virta has been a kind of refresments after working on in researching Alvar Aalto. The retrospective exhibition is held in A2, in art hall designed by Aalto in 1959. Internationally known wood prints by the artist are now shown only as a context.
The exhibition highlights Virta’s expressionistic paintings. Regardless of her chosen technique, the same subjects keep recurring in her oeuvre: Animals, personal relationships and life as a woman. She paints animals with great tenderness, and she is candid about the uglier side of intimate relationships. Her sensual women are portrayed with warm humour, even in contexts of grief or tragedy. Her paintings are feminist without an emphasis on the ‘ism’.
Simo's "80" years exhibition 5 ROOMS in Höyrygalleri, Korpilahti
A furniture without a function is useless - furniture is always in relation to its space. And vice versa a space without an object is incomplete. Even empty space gets the meaning when it is seen in relationship to an object. These thoughts by Heikkilä are behind this exhibition 5 ROOMS, divided by transparent curtains and covered rag rugs, are filled with furnitures designed by Heikkilä. There are some vintage items as well as some classics and a lot of new unique items: tables, lamps and various seatings.
As vintage there is for ex Visio chair from 1979 designed together with Y.Wiherheimo. As classics there are pieces from Arzan collection form 1984 and some canvas chairs including the metal version from 2003. Heikkilä is known by his interests on benches and divans. Together with a bench made of wasted splinters of wood from 1999 and the Cain divan produced by Lensvelt furniture there is a brand new metal divan. Heikkilä made his first lamp in 1988 for Yamagiwa but after moving to Korpilahti he has been interested on lightning.
A space becomes a room after it is filled with some personal beauty and for Heikkilä that kind of beauty is crystallized in visual arts. That is the reason why Heikkilä has invited 5 artist friends to participate to the exhibition. They are conceptual artistJussi Heikkilä, graphic designer and sculptor Aimo Katajamäki, artist Raimo Reinikainen, anti-modernist ceramicist Teemu Salonen and painter Ulla Virta.
All the items are for sale.
