1975 Helsinki
My first memory is light
When I paint, I am often captivated by a feeling of the existence of something significant. Painting is a space, where this feeling is manifested and where it gains its form. It includes the physical world, your own body, its movements and dimensions, the concrete canvas and colours. In addition to the concrete, there is the invisible; the path of painting, the instantiation of the path and the unexpected unknown, which you must let happen and which you must always listen to.
The most important thing is to see and recognize what is essential in the work. This is something we may also call beauty. The human body is the most important instrument in this process. I believe that we are able to sense beauty with our bodies outside the conscious mind. Beauty does not only signify aesthetic pleasure and shiny surface, but it also tells us something about the most profound humanity within us.
A painting is more like a mirror than a window. Like a mirror, it is bidirectional, and it is able to reflect my image while still including something else that is behind the mirror.
Photo: Mirka Kleemola