Henrik Härkönen
Arms & Attractions
10.1.-2.2.2020
“Arms & Attractions” is a group of experiences, alternating between expressive chaos and structural order. The paintings created in a chaotic situation, on the spur of the moment, tell the story of the artist’s reduced being. Amid the chaos, the symmetrical church building represents rationality. In a way, the experiential readymade objects bring together the chaos and order of the paintings and the house. A weapon is a symbol of keeping order, but in the form of a wooden gun it also includes the worlds of naivety and experiences.
The exhibitions’s name ”Arms & Attractions” divides the works into two groups. The arms are toys that were made when the artist was young. They have been played and fought with for years. The patina on the surface of the items and their social context make them experiential readymade objects, containing an experience in themselves.
The paintings are acrylic paintings on paper and oil paintings on canvas. They were created expressively without sketches, on the spur of the moment, and were painted directly on the paper using a tube. Being a thin surface, the paper often creased, adding to the experience of transience. The main focus of the abstract expression is on the formal elements forced through the filter of naive art, on the color, shape, texture and composition. In some of the abstracts one can see the rough shapes of a flower and a landscape.
The house structure is a strong architectural element in the exhibition where the other works are either two-dimensional or small. The house was hand-built using the wood of alder trees that were knocked down by wind. The support structures are unprocessed and asymmetrical pieces of wood, arranged in a way that takes into consideration their imperfection. The walls are made of wood found by the artist. The house as an entity represents something fundamental, home and security. Due to its high gable roof, the house resembles a church. The aim of the work is to express the structural and solid spirituality in a natural state. Because of the raw esthetics of nature and the sharp gable roof, it could be said that the house represents a natural Gothic style.
Henrik Härkönen
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