Maija Luutonen & Olli Keränen

The joint exhibition of  APT artist Maija Luutonen and Olli Keränen creates a dialog between the works of two artists. Olli Keränen works with sculptures and video works, while Luutonen paints with acryl on paper. Their work is based on one hand on observating the everyday environment and turning the forms and gestures into forms and colours through abstracting them. On the other hand they ask questions about utopias of space and displaying of the artworks in the gallery space.

APT artist Maija Luutonen displays large paintings on paper. The properties of paper – the white surface, porosity, planarity and lightness – have an important role in her works. For Luutonen, the use of paper is a study of both surface and material. Paper lays down specific conditions for the work. On paper, acrylic paint immediately finds its own configurations and therefore the gesture needs to be assured and fast. The study of surface and material has occasionally led Luutonen to treat paper as a relief, in which the marks of painting bring forth forms from the other side on the surface of the paper. Luutonen’s works deal at the same time with the two-dimensionality of paper and the creation of space. The flat paper is pressed against the wall, almost to be part of the surfaces of the exhibition space, while creating its own visual space with the aid of colour and perspective.