Tuomas Korkalo: Self-Revolving Line

October 20 – December 14 , 2022 Artist Reception: Thursday, November 10, 7:00-8:30 p.m. Finlandia University Gallery will cease operations at the end of 2022, please join us for this final exhibit.

HANCOCK, MI €“ Finlandia University Gallery will present Self-Revolving Line, an exhibit by Finnish artist Tuomas Korkalo at the Finlandia University Gallery, located in the Finnish American Heritage Center (FAHC), Hancock from October 20 to December 14, 2022.

A reception for the artist will take place at the gallery, Thursday, November 10th, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. with an artist talk beginning at 7:20 p.m. Following the artist talk there will be a ceremony recognizing the impact of Finlandia University Gallery in its 32 year history.  The reception is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Born and raised in Rovaniemi in Lapland, Korkalo will visit the US for the first time, presenting an exhibit of paintings executed in watercolor, acrylic and ink on canvas and color prints on aluminum composite.

€The basic elements of my paintings are color, surface, line and form,€ says Korkalo.  €I like to create an illusion of space and movement on a two-dimensional surface by exploiting the relationship between the parts of the painting. The vanishing points and juxtapositions of colors create an illusion of dimensional space.€

Korkalo€™s abstract work is influenced by early 20th century Supermatist painters who focused on the fundamentals of geometry as the subject of their artwork.  The Supermatist’s movement began around 1915 and was influenced by the Bauhaus and De Stijl art movements.  Rejecting realism in favor of geometric circles, squares and triangles, the Supermatist artists sought pure abstraction.

Korkalo€™s work takes exception to the pure pedantry of geometric art by introducing both play, problem solving and contextual meaning into his abstractions. €In my work, I also allow for randomness and absurd logic. For example, by changing the vanishing point from a familiar place to a new one, the sense of movement and space can be given a surrealistic quality,€ says Korkalo.  €For me, abstract painting is a game wherein the objective is to reveal the all-encompassing dynamic energy of the cosmos.€

€Just as color requires other colors to engender a mutual interaction, so form itself requires other forms for counterbalance,€ says Korkalo. €At some point, the harmony needs to be broken a bit to create tension in the painting. The act of combining perfect randomness with centralized expression may well be the most significant paradox which is embodied in my work.€

Korkalo graduated from the Imatra Art School (Imatra, Finland) in 2008.  He is a member of the Finnish Painters´ Union and Artists´ Association of Lapland. Since graduation, Korkalo has shown his paintings and sculptures in solo and group shows in museums, galleries, and outdoor spaces throughout the Nordic region, as well as Japan, Germany, Peru, Russia, Italy and South Korea. He is the producer of the annual €œOdd Garden€ (Kumma Puurarha) environmental art exhibit in the city of Rovaniemi, and in the last two years he has created several exterior and interior murals in Mantta and Joensuu, Finland. In 2021, he received the annual Lapland Art Award. Last year he also won the prestigious competition through the Serlachius Museum to paint a 45ft x 35ft mural on a 1950s modernist apartment building.

Tuomas Korkalo: Self-Revolving Line will be on display at the Finlandia University Gallery through December 14, 2022.

The Finlandia University Gallery is located in the Finnish American Heritage Center, 435 Quincy Street, Hancock.  Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm. Please call 906-487-7500 or email gallery@finlandia.edu for more information.