Photographic Gallery Hippolyte
Timo Andersson
Depictions
Timo Andersson will present a series of new paintings at Hippolyte Gallery as part of the Nuoret 2023 (Young Artists) exhibition. The works are painted with acrylic on polyester mesh stretched over the canvas and finished with a colourful polypropylene ribbon frame. The function of this encircling frame is to emphasise the contrast between the image’s surface and its immediate surroundings. It delimits the works into physical, comprehensive pieces with a strong spatial role and active agency — manifesting in their mutual interaction between each other and the viewer.
The polyester mesh used as the base material of the works can be considered a kind of scaffolding-like stand tightened around the painting, separate from the canvas underneath, whose function, instead of presenting, is simply to show. The canvas’s porous, subtly tensioned surface contains intersecting networks of painterly gestures and colour surfaces that seem to settle momentarily into readable forms — half-disintegrated or disintegrating bodies and places, molecular-level beauty, spaces radiating vague life — without ultimately rooting into any one unequivocal genre or definition.
The world of the works is not abstract or representational, but they only aim to bring out ambiguous visual arguments that can either be received as they are or ignored. They are a kind of material poetry where the rough, synthetic beauty of human life meets the sublime and unreal.
Timo Andersson (b. 1989) is a visual artist living and working in Espoo who currently focuses especially on the language of contemporary painting and its possibilities. The powerful visual nature of Andersson’s paintings relies on the use and combination of various synthetic materials to emphasise his complex relationship with his chosen medium. Andersson graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts of the University of Arts, Helsinki, with a Master’s degree in 2018. He has held solo exhibitions in Finland (most recently Forum Box, Helsinki, 2021), Germany, and the United States — he has also participated in group exhibitions in Finland and abroad. His works are included in the collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, the Saastamoinen Foundation, the Pori Art Museum (as a deposit collection A.J.), and the Academy of Fine Arts.
The realisation of the works in the exhibition has been supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation in the form of residency at SeMA Nanji, Seoul, South Korea.
Image: Timo Andersson
Photographic Gallery Hippolyte
Iisa Lepistö
Veiston pyöreä aika, kaiken lineaarisena näyttäytyvän keskellä
Iisa Lepistö’s sculpture-installation in Hippolyte, Veiston pyöreä aika, kaiken lineaarisena näyttäytyvän keskellä (Sculpture’s Round Time, Amongst Everything That Appears to be Linear), is placed in the gallery space in the form of six sculptures which are attached to the wall and placed on the floor. The theme of the work nurtures the connection between the feet and the earth and appears in the form of granite shoes – in reference to massaging acupuncture footwear. In addition, the installation’s sculptures seem as if they are seeking a balance between themselves and their platform. In terms of their form, some of the works refer to recognisable objects, while some remain abstract, independent sculptural objects.
Lepistö’s work, which is part of the Nuoret 2023 (Young Artists) exhibition, deals with repetition and the imaginary connection between the artist and the sculptural material — often, especially with sculptural art, the notion of some kind of almost magical connection is attached. Lepistö’s texts and sculptures illuminate the one-sidedness of her relationship with artistic materials, without minimising their importance. Stone, or any other sculpting material, wants nothing from her. Instead, the artist’s own connection with the sculpture is repetitious, and thus meditative and meaningful.
“Thanks to its repetitive nature, sculpturing glues the soles of my feet firmly to the surface of the earth. Repetition can be thought of as standing still because it refuses to be carried away by new rhythms. Like a snake, it coils up until it ends up biting its own tail. However, I believe that only a certain kind of remaining, still, and repeating the same things over and over, is the way to surprising thoughts and fiery ideas. It is entirely unpredictable when the snake decides to break the circuit and move towards a new cycle of repetition. To achieve realisation, you have to step into granite shoes and jump on the back of a snake”.
The upcoming May issue of Nuori Voima magazine (2/2023) will feature an article written by Lepistö discussing the installation currently on display at Hippolyte gallery as part of the Nuoret 2023 exhibition. The article also delves into the artist’s approach to sculptural creation.
Iisa Lepistö (b.1994) is an artist from Helsinki who works with sculptural elements and writing. Her work is based on the origins of sculptural materials and their possible futures, utilising the methods of sculpture, artistic research, and writing. For the past few years, her work has mainly been focused on stone, the nature of which puts repetition, listening, and bodily memory at the centre of her practice. Lepistö graduated with a master’s degree from the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Arts, Helsinki, in 2020. She underwent exchange studies in Taipei at the National University of Arts and also at Ècole Supérieure d’art et de Design in Marseille, which played a significant role in her education and helped her develop a deeper understanding of sculpture and materials. Her texts on sculpture have been published in, e.g., Nuori Voima, Mustekala, and Astra Magazine.
The artist’s work has been supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Paulo Foundation. In addition, part of the work has been worked on at the Academy of Fine Arts’ alumni residence in Cove Park and at the Scottish Sculpture Workshop.
Image: Iisa Lepistö
Hippolyte Studio
Amy Gelera & Dominik Fleischmann
Hegemonia Saliva
In the Nuoret 2023 (Young Artists) exhibition, artists Amy Gelera and Dominik Fleischmann continue their visual dialogue Hegemonia Saliva, where they critically engage with topics around human colonisation and the domination of nature.
The artist duo is influenced and inspired by the discourse directly linking modernity and coloniality, developed by Latin American authors Aníbal Quijano and Walter Mignolo. Modernity and coloniality are inseparable, two sides of the same coin — similar to the dark side of the moon, coloniality being the dark side of modernity.
At Hippolyte’s Studio space, the two artists discuss the relationship of hegemonies between Latin America and Europe in their personal visual language. The work clashes mediums and materials, perceptions and values. A flashy projection bouncing between emoji hearts and protest footage of the streets of Guatemala, meet two framed artworks that speak of violence and separations in the name of conservation. The media installation is opposed by a calm reading nook presenting two handmade zines and Amy Gelera’s academic research on the colonisation of visual culture and the oppressive influence of stock photography.
Amy Gelera and Dominik Fleischmann met in Finland during their studies at Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture. Hegemonia Saliva (Nuoret2023) at Hippolyte is the second collaboration of the two artists. Their first visual dialogue presentation premiered at Galleria Uusi Kipinä in Lahti in 2021.
Amy Gelera (she/they) is a visual communication designer from Guatemala, based in Helsinki. Throughout their academic life, they have studied in various parts of Europe and completed their Visual Communication Design (MA) studies at Aalto University. They are currently a member of the decolonising collective S.U.R. Their independent practice revolves around social dialogues concerning discrimination and decolonisation–protest. Additionally, irony, and humour are key elements of their critical approach.
Dominik Fleischmann (he/him) is a visual artist from Würzburg, Germany. He studied photography in Berlin (BTK – University of Art & Design) and Espoo (Aalto University). Before moving to Finland, he worked in sanctuaries across the globe, researching the relationship between humans and nature. His travels in Latin America made him question the representative qualities of photography and his own role in the portraits of countries seen through a Western lens. Dominik’s artistic research deals with morality, justice, and empathy through artworks combining documentary approaches and lyrical narratives.
The work on Hegemonia Saliva by Amy Gelera and Dominik Feischmann is supported by the Olga and Vilho Linnamo Foundation and Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike) and UrbanApa Miniresidency.
Image: Dominik Fleischmann
Nuoret 2023 (Young Artists) is an exhibition of today’s young contemporary artists, and will be held from 22 April to 4 June 2023. For the first time the exhibition will be displayed in seven different exhibition spaces and addition to Kunsthalle Helsinki the works are at Galleria G, Photographic Gallery Hippolyte, MUU Helsinki Contemporary Art Centre, Sculptor, tm•gallery and the Helsinki Art Museum, HAM.
At Hippolyte you will see works with various mediums and techniques from artists: Timo Andersson, Iisa Lepistö and Amy Gelera & Dominik Fleischmann.
Several events are organized in connection with the exhibition, e.g. guided gallery tours, artist meetings and discussions.
Read more about the Nuoret 2023 exhibition and programme from nuoret2023.fi
Nuoret 2023
Timo Andersson
Depictions
Iisa Lepistö
Veiston pyöreä aika, kaiken lineaarisena näyttäytyvän keskellä
Amy Gelera & Dominik Fleischmann
Hegemonia Saliva
5.–28. May 2023
Photographic Gallery Hippolyte & Hippolyte Studio