Link to Google Slide Presentation
Pertti Kekarainen
Tila
Artist Profile
Pertti Kekarainen
B. 1965, Finland
Associated with the Helsinki School
Known best for his Photography & Sculpture work
About Tila
Tila is essentially an “umbrella” project-title that includes some smaller series some titled, Tila Passages and Spatial Changes which total in over 130 works that Kekarainen started producing in 2004.
“The Finnish word TILA has multiple meanings. It can mean an architectural space, an interior, the space and distance between different objects, the space inside an object, a farm, a condition of phenomena or the state of mind.”
(Personsprojects)
Words from the artist
“One of the series is TILA (Passage I-VII). All works have the same interior image as the starting point. I have altered, distorted and twisted the perspective of the interior with color fields, color dots and other dots – sights through a glass ball or a magnifying glass. All acts refer to the perception or the experience of the space.
The perception or our experience of an interior space does not only depend on our eyes; the total experience is a mixture of the scale of the space, the light, the materials used, the purpose of the use of the space and not to forget other senses such as hearing, smell, sense of touch and movement within the space.”
-Pertti Kekarianen, Texts from Persons Projects
1:1 Ratio
The importance of a 1:1 ratio in Kekarainen’s work. The artist looks to give you a lifesize view of the images he has captured which accentuates the depth of perception that alters the viewer’s experiences in the exhibition space. (artsy.com)
Kekarainen’s work creates both a dichotomous and synergistic relationship between the gallery space and his work. I gather in-person you feel both a sense of tension and beckoning from his work as if you can walk from the room you are in through the passage he has manifested in his photography like a portal to another dimension yet a part of you knows that is not possible.
Quotes from Spatial Changes Press Release
“ In them, he adds various visual elements to the two-dimensional surfaces of photographs, such as lines, bars, spheres and fields of colour that challenge the reading of the image and create new interpretation of space.”
“The uniform bars, lines and angles of the visual surface have partly shifted the works and the soft points of oscillation create a blurred and spacious weave. In some of the works, the perception of vibration opens up to juddering before being condensed in the next piece into a precise set of lines resembling tremors.”
“Alongside photographs, the exhibition contains three-dimensional structures that are a continuation of the large constructions…”
Material Note: What is a Diasec?
“ Diasec is the first system that allowed photographs to be bonded directly and permanently to Acrylic sheet. It is the worlds most established and quality proven face-mounting process.” (diasec)
Shadow, Light, &… Dots?
In Kekarainen’s earlier work on Tila he experiments with the relationship between people and space, yet people are a more forward subject of the work. He essentially creates a painting with shadow, light, and a dot(s) of color(s) on the gallery wall which mirror the objects in the space of the photograph. The irony for me here is the photograph itself is essentially a painting made from light in shadow and we are witnessing this happening twice. I love looking at this work after the others because you can see how he begins to build the layers within the portals his work becomes layer on.
Comparisons
I think this picture of Kekarainen’s Berlin Gallery Show is brilliant because the hallway of the gallery in this photo mimics his work! The juxtaposition is uncanny.
Architecture
The style of Kekarainen’s work clearly reflects the aesthetic of his own culture as found here in these examples of mostly Scandanavian Architecture.
In the side-by-side comparison between a Finnish building and Kekarainen’s work notice the clean lines with a minimalist utilitarian approach to both structures. Additionally, the works are recessed which form a hard shadow that is inviting to the eye.
Cubism
Cubism’s main focus for experimentation was on perspective and how this device can alter our perceptions between depth and surface of the canvas. Kakaranien takes a similar approach to his work. The viewer is forced to move his eyes back and forth between multiple layers the artist has captured within the work.
The main difference here is the subject matter. Juan Gris, a famous cubist painter, uses objects on tables to play with our depth perception, never allowing our eye to settle on the table yet we know it’s there. Kakaranien works more with obscure architectural elements like passageways to create even more depth with more stopping points along the way and back, to and from what seems to be an invisible vanishing point.
Minimalism
I think this last comparison speaks for itself.
A Few of my Kekarainen Favorites…
Link to Google Slide Presentation
Resource List:
Anhava, Galerie. “Pertti Kekarainen: Spatial Changes: Galerie Anhava.” Artsy, 19 Jan. 2019, www.artsy.net/show/galerie-anhava-pertti-kekarainen-spatial-changes.
“Architecture Archives – Alvar Aalto Foundation: Alvar Aalto -Säätiö.” Alvar Aalto Foundation | Alvar Aalto -Säätiö, www.alvaraalto.fi/en/works/architecture/.
“Glasses, Newspaper and Bottle of Wine by Juan Gris: Oil Painting.” By Juan Gris | Oil Painting, www.juangris.org/Glasses-Newspaper-And-Bottle-Of-Wine.html.
“Paimio Sanatorium – Alvar Aalto Foundation: Alvar Aalto -Säätiö.” Alvar Aalto Foundation | Alvar Aalto -Säätiö, www.alvaraalto.fi/en/architecture/paimio-sanatorium/.
“Pertti Kekarainen.” 11 Artworks, Bio & Shows on Artsy, www.artsy.net/artist/pertti-kekarainen.
“Pertti Kekarainen.” Helsinki School / Person Projects, www.personsprojects.com/artists/pertti-kekarainen?x=works/tila-series.
Tate. “’Two Open Modular Cubes/Half-Off’, Sol LeWitt, 1972.” Tate, 1 Jan. 1972, www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/lewitt-two-open-modular-cubes-half-off-t01865.