Maria Chevska: Yet
Hannaleena Heiska: Not of This World
15.2.-23.3.2008
8.2.2008
Kalhama&Piippo has the privilege to open the exhibitions of new works by British Maria Chevska (b.1956) and Finnish Hannaleena Heiska (b.1973)
In her exhibition “Yet” Maria Chevska builds installations, which include paintings and other elements that connect the paintings to the physical world: chairs, tape, pigment… The paintings, that are placed next to the found objects, become an elegant part of the space holding the disparate objects together formally. There’s a repetition of basic and ideal modernist forms, that relate within the installation and to the surrounding architectural space.
According to the artist a painting always has an autonomous role and can be detached from the actual installation. Chevska’s paintings consist of texts, abstract forms and paint which she processes in layers. Despite of the long working process the result is reduced and minimalistic.
Maria Chevska made her breakthrough in turn of the nineties. Her artworks have been presented in several group exhibitions and solo shows in Europe and in some of London’s most renowed spaces, such as the Serpentine Gallery, Whitechapel Art Gallery and Andrew Mummery, her representative gallery.
Hannaleena Heiska’s exhibition “Not of this World” dives into an imaginative world filled with fantasy creatures. Her art is characterized by images taken from the themes of popular culture. She gets inspired by furry animals, heavy metal bands and tattoos. On the one hand she shows the enchantment she feels for her subject matter, on the other hand she ironises them. Heiska’s painting is versatile, experimental and full of daring and she challenges herself as a painter. She shows the traces of the paint brush to the viewer: transparent brush strokes emphasize the self-consciousness of the work and breaks the illusion of the image.
Hannaleena Heiska graduated from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 2006. The exhibition at Kalhama&Piippo is Heiska’s second solo exhibition after the gallery exhibition of the Academy of Fine Arts. This year Heiska’s art will also be seen at Mänttä Art Festival in Finland and in Gothenburg, Sweden at the Göteborg Konsthall, in the exhibition “Tomorrow always belongs to us”, curated by Mika Hannula.
Kalhama&Piippo is also proud to publish its first artist book that presents the work of Hannaleena Heiska. In the book there are two articles written by art historians, professor Riikka Stewen and artistic director Pilvi Kalhama.
Gallery Kalhama & Piippo Contemporary