Antti-Ville Reinikainen
Release
26th October–19th November 2023
In the work “Procession“, black sawhorses carry a bier that fuses into the body of a car. Warm light glimmers from the windows of a cabin facing the sky and the ground.
The exhibition took its final shape based on this work. Its realisation felt particularly meaningful due to the funeral of my beloved grandmother in February, with me being one of the pall-bearers.
The themes of finality, relinquishment and disintegration conveyed by the work also gave direction to the other works in the exhibition.
I had previously completed a large number of smaller-scale sculptures for the exhibition. They were based on a work called “Master” from last year’s solo exhibition. Eventually only a part of these works ended up in the current exhibition, and four new works were built alongside “Procession“.
I have realised the works e.g. with wood carving and as acrylic composite and concrete castings as well as a combination of these techniques. One can also see my long-standing relationship with painting especially in the colour scheme of the smaller sculptures. Different methods of painting have indeed become an integral part of many of my sculptures.
Even though there is diversity in the entity of works, the themes of finiteness, finality and release lie behind all the works selected for display. In addition to the personal level, echoes of current threats can also be seen. A boat stuck inside a broken tree, a car falling into an offertory bag or the nose of an aircraft lifted to the tip of a shovel convey a sense of danger but also a distress stemming from a fundamental sense of separateness and remoteness. However, the melancholy of finality is balanced by comfort and warmth which can be seen in the works as a glimmer of light from the windows of vehicles or houses. Also in the other works dark themes are accompanied by the infinite jest of the spectrum of colours and imaginative visions.
My artistic work for this exhibition has been supported by the Arts Promotion Centre Finland and Finnish Cultural Foundation.
Contact details
www.avreinikainen.com
avreinikainen(a)gmail.com
