Aino Kajaniemi & Jason DeBose
Aino Kajaniemi: Dreams and Memories
Finlandia University Gallery
Contemporary tapestries from Finland
January 8 February 19, 2015
Closing Reception: Thursday, February 19, 7 8:30 p.m.
Gallery Talk beginning at 7:15 p.m.
Jason DeBose: They Left 150 Years Ago
Finnish American Heritage Center Hall
A photography exhibit commemorating 150 years
of Finnish immigration to North America
January 22 February 7, 2015
Opening Reception: Thursday, January 22, 7 8:30 p.m.
Artist Talk beginning at 7:15 p.m.
Artist Jason DeBose (Image courtesy of Paul Vachier).
Jason DeBose “Through the Reeds”, 2010, Digital photograph on canvas, Ruuhijärvi, Finland
Artist Aino Kajaniemi
Aino Kajaniemi, Off, 2012, Linen, cotton, wool, viscose, hair, 30 x 40 cm
Upcoming art exhibits and receptions at Finlandia
Finlandia University Gallery, located in the Finnish American Heritage Center, will host two exhibits in January, both celebrating Finnish and Finnish American art and culture. Contemporary tapestries by Finnish artist Aino Kajaniemi will be displayed in the Finlandia University Gallery from January 8 – February 19 and photographs by Jason DeBose commemorating 150 years of Finnish immigration to North America will be on display in the Finnish American Center Hall January 22 – February 7.
An opening reception for Jason DeBoses exhibit will take place at the Finnish American Heritage Center Hall on Thursday, January 22, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. with an artist talk beginning at 7:15.
A closing reception for Aino Kajaniemis exhibit will take place at the Finlandia University Gallery on Thursday, February 19, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Anita Jain, Director of Common Strands, a non-profit International Fiber Art Exchange organization based in Minneapolis will present a talk about Aino Kajaniemis work beginning at 7:15.
Both receptions are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
Fine art photographer Jason DeBose, a Pasadena, California native has lived in the Finnish capital of Helsinki since 2007. His interest in photography began as a teenager, and further developed as he traveled to Scandinavia and Western Europe photographing the architecture, fashion and street scenes that bore little resemblance to those of his native California. He attended Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut where he studied film and studied abroad at the University of Stockholm in Sweden.
Beginning in 2011, DeBose has travelled back and forth from Finland to North America shooting and exhibiting “They Left 150 Years Ago,” a show commemorating the sesquicentennial of Finnish migration to North America, which was recently awarded Arts Promotion Centre Finland’s grant for international projects. The exhibition received grant funding in 2013 and 2014 from the Finlandia Foundation in Pasadena, California.
The exhibit features photographs of Americans of Finnish heritage from more than 15 states, and contrasts them with native Finns of today. They left 150 Years Ago was exhibited in Finland in 2013-14 (Helsinki and Jyväskylä, 2013 and Tampere, 2014) and will travel to various venues during 2015 in the United States.
DeBose is currently working on “The Music Never Dies,” a collaborative documentary film about unsung heroes of American jazz to be shot in New York, New Orleans, Finland, Estonia and Poland.
Listen to DeBose get interviewed by a radio station in Marquette, Michigan’s sister city, Kajaani.
Aino Kajaniemi, Finland’s 2010 Textile Artist of the Year, recently made her United States debut at Textile Center in Minneapolis. Kajaniemi visited Finlandia University Gallery in June 2014, and presented a public lecture about her work, and arrangements were made to bring her tapestries to Finlandia University Gallery.
Kajaniemi uses the historic Scandinavian textile tradition as a medium for exploring contemporary individual and community emotion and memories. In her adept hands, the traditional tapestry medium – one with a rich cultural history – is transformed into something simultaneously both familiar and cutting edge.
Kajaniemi’s bold and dramatic tapestries, often likened to sketching or a form of line etching with fibers, have been shown in solo and collective shows throughout Europe. Her work is also well represented in Scandinavian art collections. Kajaniemi also creates liturgical church textiles and her work can be found in the Church of Palokka, located in the county of Jyväskylä.
My textiles are my way of thinking, says Kajaniemi. I want to produce the objects of my wonderings into something concrete, so that I could understand them. The subjects of my works usually originate from the inmost of a human being: sorrow, joy, uncertainty, guilt, tenderness and memories.
Aino Kajaniemi: Dreams and Memories: Contemporary tapestries from Finland will be on display in the Finlandia University Gallery January 8 February 19 and Jason DeBose: They Left 150 Years Ago: a photography exhibit commemorating 150 years of Finnish immigration to North America will be on display in the Finnish American Heritage Center Hall from January 22 February 7.
The Finlandia University Gallery is in the Finnish American Heritage Center, 435 Quincy Street, Hancock. Gallery hours are Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Thursday 8 a.m. 7 p.m. and Saturday 12 – 4 p.m., or by appointment. For more information, call 906-487-7500.