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Film students poster
October 17, 2023

Video Works | 28.10–26.11.2023

Aalto university, Finland
Students of the Department of Film

Opening: 27.10 at 7pm

Exhibition: 29.10–25.11.2023

Kolonie Weekend: Open on Sun 29.10.2023 from 2–6pm

Julius Repo
Venla Monni
James Coker
Hilla Tykkyläinen
Suvi Hänninen
Sameli Muurimäki

Galerie/Projektraum TOOLBOX
Koloniestraße 120
13359 Berlin-Wedding
U-Bahn Osloerstraße

Opening Times: Wed–Sat, 3–7pm | Öffnungszeiten: Mi–Sa 15–19 Uhr

An Feiertagen ist die Toolbox geschlossen
On Bank holidays Toolbox is closed

Exhibition Iran
September 12, 2023

Wounds – Drawings by eight
contemporary artists from Iran | 1.–21.09.2023

Wounds | Wunden
Drawings by eight contemporary artists from Iran
Zeichnungen von acht zeitgenössischen Künstler:innen aus dem Iran

Opening | Eröffnung Fri, 29 Sep 2023, 7pm
Runtime | Laufzeit 1–21 Oct 20

Artists | Künstler:innen
Sahar Nahavandi Nejad, Atefeh Mehrvarz, Minoo Kiani,
Azin Rostami, Raheleh Ghavipanjeh, Behnam Bakhshizadeh,
Farhad Gavzan, Hossein Ghafouri

The exhibition is complemented by smaller works on the same topic by Toolbox members Maija Helasvuo, Sampsa Indrén, Mika Karhu, Niina Räty, Juha Sääski and Ilkka Sariola.

Ergänzt wir die Ausstellung durch kleinere Werke zum gleichen Thema von den Toolbox-Mitgliedern Maija Helasvuo, Sampsa Indrén,
Mika Karhu, Niina Räty, Juha Sääski und Ilkka Sariola.

Curated by | kuratiert von Farhad Gavzan and Ilkka Sariola

The exhibition “Wounds” is very special. Toolbox is honoured to present Iranian art, in particular drawings by eight contemporary Iranian artists: Sahar Nahvandi Nejad, Atefeh Mehrvarz, Minoo Kiani, Azin Rostami, Rheleh Ghavipanjeh, Farhad Gavzan, Behnam Bakhshi and Behnam Bakhshizadeh. In addition to Iranian art, some of our TOOLBOX members, Maija Helasvuo, Mika Karhu, Juha Sääski, Sampsa Indren and Ilkka Sariola, will also be presenting some smaller works.

The theme of the exhibition, wound, is ambiguous; everyone has their own invisible wounds, the wounds of violence may appear as scars and the traces of war as open bleeding wounds. We live in critical times and societies are threatened by the Corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine. In fact, the pandemic and the ‘quarantine galleries’ on Instagram, which took place in the year 2020, were the starting point for this exhibition. In the difficult early stages of the pandemic, Iran ended up in a complete lockdown and quarantine. The artist Mr Farhad Gavzan was interested in my artworks on Instagram and he presented some of my artworks in the “Quarantine Gallery” he founded. This gave me the idea to create a cultural exchange project “Quarantine gallery, drawings from Iran and Finland”. I ended up posting 78 days, Instastories and on my wall, from 18.3. – 1.6. 2020, representing as many artists from Iran and Finland. During this project I received many messages from Iranian and Finnish artists who appreciated this cultural art exchange. Many asked if I could represent their artworks. I was impressed by the powerful expression of the works of Iranian artists, often women. I experienced how a drawn picture touches across cultural borders. Now, after more than three years, I have the honour of presenting the works of 8 Iranian artists live in the Toolbox Gallery. This exhibition is curated by my friend Farhad Gavzan and I. The process has been challenging for many unfortunate reasons, but also rewarding. I thank I thank everyone involved in organizing the exhibition in Iran, Berlin and Finland, especially Farhad Gavzan, Andreas Wolf and rest of our Toolbox crew.

Image: Sahar Nahavandi Nejad, untitled, pencil on cardboard, 50 x 70 cm

Galerie/Projektraum TOOLBOX
Koloniestraße 120
13359 Berlin-Wedding
U-Bahn Osloerstraße

Opening Times: Wed–Sat, 3–7pm | Öffnungszeiten: Mi–Sa 15–19 Uhr

An Feiertagen ist die Toolbox geschlossen
On Bank holidays Toolbox is closed

August 9, 2023

Contact | 25.8.–23.9.2023

Niina Räty (painting and drawing), Maija Helasvuo (wood sculptures)

Opening: Fri 25 August 2023, 7pm

25.8.-23.9.2023
Opening hours: Wed-Sat 3pm-7pm

Closed on bank holidays

Maija Helasvuo

My sculptures shown in the exhibition were created in memory of my deceased relatives.
In the old Finnish belief, the bird acts as a messenger between the living and the dead. So the connection to the afterlife is always there.

Maija helasvuo: From Spring to Autumn

Maija Helasvuo: From Spring to Autum, 2021, Photo: Jussi Tiainen

Niina Räty

I have a dog who brings joy and structure to my life. She trusts me, eagerly keeps me company, and makes ordinary days more meaningful. She is considered my property. Animals are traded, they are milked, sheared and slaughtered, they are made to carry and compete. Is it even possible to build a relationship with an animal without seeking benefits?

To milk, 2022, oil, pastel on canvas, Niina Räty

Niina Räty: To Milk, 2022, oil, pastel on canvas

Toolbox Cabinet
In the cabinet, two music archaeologists will introduce themselves.
One from Finland and one from Berlin:
Dr. Arnd Adje Both
Dr. Riitta Rainio
An archaeomusicological installation consisting of a virtual reality video and ceramic sculptures of instrumentalists will be presented.

The virtual reality videos bring to life the soundscape at the rock painting site of Siliävuori, Finland, about 5,000 years ago. The painted rock cliff rising directly from the lake responds to drumming and singing with echoes. Rock painting sites with images of animals, humans, boats and even drummers are believed to have been ritual sites for prehistoric hunter-fisher-gatherers.
The virtual reality reconstruction of Silävuori was made in collaboration between archaeologists, musicologists and cognitive scientists from the University of Helsinki, using terrestrial and aerial laser scans, spherical photography, spatial impulse response recordings, studio recordings and convolution. The work was part of Dr. Riitta Rainio’s project ”Acoustics and auditory culture at hunter-gatherer rock art sites in Northern Europe, Siberia and North America” funded by the Academy of Finland (2018–2023).

Photo_Riitta Rainio

 

 

 

 

Dr. Arnd Adje Both

The work’s I’m presenting here are related to a theme of mine, the invisibility of sounds and their momentary condition in time and place.

German:

Niina Räty (Malerei und Zeichnung), Maija Helasvuo (Holzskulpturen)

25.8.–23.9.2023

Öffnungszeiten: Mi–Sa 15-19 Uhr

An Feiertagen geschlossen

Maija Helasvuo

Meine in der Ausstellung gezeigten Skulpturen sind im Gedenken an meine verstorbenen Verwandten entstanden.
Im alten finnischen Glauben fungiert der Vogel als Bote zwischen den Lebenden und den Toten. Die Verbindung zum Jenseits besteht also immer.

Niina Räty

Ich habe einen Hund, der Freude und Struktur in mein Leben bringt. Sie vertraut mir, leistet mir eifrig Gesellschaft und macht gewöhnliche Tage sinnvoller. Sie wird als mein Eigentum betrachtet. Tiere werden gehandelt, sie werden gemolken, geschoren und geschlachtet, sie werden zum Tragen und zum Wettbewerb gezwungen. Ist es überhaupt möglich, eine Beziehung zu einem Tier aufzubauen, ohne Vorteile zu suchen?

Toolbox Kabinett

Im Kabinett werden sich zwei Musikarchäologen vorstellen.
Einer aus Finnland und einer aus Berlin:
Dr. Arnd Adje Beide
Dr. Riitta Rainio
Präsentiert wird eine archäomusikologische Installation bestehend aus einem Virtual-Reality-Video und Keramikskulpturen von Instrumentalisten.

Die Virtual-Reality-Videos erwecken die Geräuschkulisse an der Felsmalereistätte von Siliävuori, Finnland, vor etwa 5.000 Jahren zum Leben. Die bemalte Felswand, die sich direkt aus dem See erhebt, antwortet auf Trommeln und Gesang mit Echos. Es wird angenommen, dass die Felsmalereien mit Abbildungen von Tieren, Menschen, Booten und sogar Trommlern Ritualplätze für prähistorische Jäger, Fischer und Sammler waren.
Die Virtual-Reality-Rekonstruktion von Silävuori wurde in Zusammenarbeit von Archäologen, Musikwissenschaftlern und Kognitionswissenschaftlern der Universität Helsinki unter Verwendung von terrestrischen und Luft-Laserscans, sphärischen Fotografien, räumlichen Impulsantworten, Studioaufnahmen und anderen Techniken erstellt. Die Arbeit war Teil von Dr. Riitta Rainios Projekt “Acoustics and auditory culture at hunter-gatherer rock art sites in Northern Europe, Siberia and North America”, das von der Academy of Finland (2018-2023) finanziert wird.

Dr. Arnd Adje Both

Die von mir hier präsentierten Arbeiten beziehen sich auf eins meiner Themen, die Unsichtbarkeit von Klängen und ihr momentanenrZustand in Zeit und Raum.

Galerie/Projektraum TOOLBOX
Koloniestraße 120
13359 Berlin-Wedding
U-Bahn Osloerstraße

Wed– Sat 3–7pm
An Feiertagen ist die Toolbox geschlossen
On Bank holidays Toolbox is closed

flyer
July 21, 2023

Symposium
30.07.2023

Chornobyl Dreams Symposium: conversations on photography, borders, landscape, and imagination

Start: Sun 30.07.2023, 4pm

The new exhibitions at the Galerie Toolbox: The Rock and The Tower (30.07.–19.08.23) display the installations of Karen Koltermann (GER) from the Gorham Caves in Gibraltar and the multimedia installation by Tiina Harpf, Tiina Hihnavaara, Kimmo Roine, and Mikko H. Haapoja (FIN) of the changes in urban space as experienced from Pasila’s cell tower in Helsinki.

In advance of the new exhibition, on Sunday, July 30th, at 16.00, Gallery Toolbox brings together
artist Karen Koltermann and cultural researcher Veera Ojala to explore the exhibit themes through an interdisciplinary lens. Veera and Karen discuss their practises and experiences in the borderlands of Gibraltar and the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, combining views from arts and cultural studies.

The interdisciplinary afternoon features artist Karen Koltermann’s work on the Gibraltar Caves. In September 2018, Karen Koltermann took part in one of the rare guided tours to the Gorham Caves aspart of her artists’ residency visits in Gibraltar. The Caves were inhabited by Neanderthals in a bygone era called the Middle Palaeolithic, who, as has been known since 2014, were also artistically active. Besides the naturally formed caves, the monolithic limestone rock was artificially hollowed out for about 50 km, e.g., for tunnels and gun emplacements. Because the outpost was ceded to Great Britain by the Spanish in 1713, a special border situation has arisen here, and Gibraltar has become one of the most densely populated areas on earth.

Veera Ojala is a cultural researcher, and in her ongoing PhD research, she explores nuclear waste and radioactive landscapes through their visual depictions, focusing on the visual culture of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. Through her fieldwork in Chornobyl and with visitors’ photographs, Veera explores the cultural experiences of nuclear power and people’s ways of experiencing and creating meaning from radioactive landscapes.

Probing themes of the construction of borders, landscapes, and works of memory and imagination in combination with the modes of expression, speakers address the cultural and historical matrices and scars of the landscapes and the ways in which they are recomposed in the present.

The symposium is held in German and English.
Conversations with:
Artist Karen Koltermann (GER)
PhD Researcher Veera Ojala (FIN) University of Turku, Finland

After the talks:
DJ Not My Kind Of Climate, Maurus Gmür

When: Sunday 30th of July at 16.00
Where: Gallery Toolbox, Koloniestraße 120, Berlin

Foto KAren Koltermann
July 21, 2023

The Rock
28.07.–19.08.23

Karen Koltermann, Installation

In September 2018, Karen Koltermann took part in one of the rare guided tours to Gorham´s Cave complex in Gibraltar as part of her artists’ residency at Lichtenberg Studios. In the Gallery Toolbox, Karen Koltermann will now show the installation “The Rock,” which is based on photos of this exploration.

Sunday 30.07. 2023, 4pm
Chornobyl Dreams Symposium:
conversations on photography, borders, landscape, and
imagination | read more

Opening: 28.07.2023, 7pm

30.07.–19.08.2023
Mi–Sa 15–19 Uhr

Toolbox Kabinett

TORNI – THE TOWER

Photo and sound landscape collage of the changes in urban space as experienced from Pasila’s cell tower

The idea for the Torni image and sound collage started when I was a deputy city councillor in the Helsinki city council and a member of the city’s equality committee. At that time, I strongly realised how many things should be considered when building, space, light, sustainability of the surrounding urban nature, movement of different people of different ages, and much more.
From Pasila’s cell tower, you could clearly see the gradual but constantly increasing construction of the environment, and the change of the landscape in different seasons of the year. In addition to photography, we also got permission to install pinhole cameras in the tower, pointing at the sun and the landscape.

Solargraphy is the art of long-exposure photography that captures the image of the sun’s path across the sky. The path is invisible to the human eye, and it is also different in each place on Earth.
When you look at the landscape from the tower, you must be very alert; so many things are constantly changing in the events of the earth and sky. The cell phone camera does not lift or magnify, it shows everything roughly as the human eye sees it from the tower.

When you sat in your kitchen having breakfast in the old Pasila, you saw a lot of green, you could follow the events in the yard and the birds playing. Now, in many new houses, the situation is already such that you can see the wall of the neighbouring house very close, and you can observe what the neighbours are spreading on their toast this morning.

In the Torni collage, we have included pictures taken with very different photographic equipment and with equipment of different levels, without fear of jaggedness. One purpose of the work is to encourage people to record their surroundings in pictures, even if they don’t own any luxury equipment. And that’s what many people do nowadays; the digital age makes a lot possible. Someone takes pictures of the forest they know all year round; someone photographs the birdhouse in the yard, someone takes pictures of their every morning swimming spot through summers and winters.

The collage is also the mind’s journey to the landscape. While the camera follows the changing urban space, the soundscapes, solargraphs, and music recorded on the spot create space for the mind to wander.

You can also look at the collage, trying to spot what disappears and what replaces it.

Tiina Harpf – script, speech, soundscapes, photos, installation of pinhole cameras
Tiina Hihnavaara – script, photo editing
Kimmo Roine, Tiina Harpf – installation of pinhole cameras
Mikko H. Haapoja – music (bowed lyre, keyed fiddle), video editing, sound design*
Orders and more information:
tiinamaaria.harpf@gmail.com
tiina.hihnavaara@gmail.com

Galerie/Projektraum TOOLBOX
Koloniestraße 120
13359 Berlin-Wedding
U-Bahn Osloerstraße

Wed– Sat 3–7pm
An Feiertagen ist die Toolbox geschlossen
On Bank holidays Toolbox is closed

Mika KArhu, Toolbox
June 7, 2023

Mindless obedience is the worst crime 01.–23.07.2023

Drawing installation:

Stumpfsinniger Gehorsam ist das schlimmste Verbrechen

Artists: Sampsa Indrén, Finland, Henrik Jacob, Germany, Mika Karhu, Finland

Opening: 28.06.2023, 7pm

01.–23.07.2023
Mi–Sa 15–19 Uhr

Galerie/Projektraum TOOLBOX
Koloniestraße 120
13359 Berlin-Wedding
U-Bahn Osloerstraße

Wed– Sat 3–7pm
An Feiertagen ist die Toolbox geschlossen
On Bank holidays Toolbox is closed

Tiia Matikainen
May 15, 2023

Root Tales 28.05.–24.06.2023

Tiia Matikainen (Finnland)

Sculptures

Toolbox Kabinett: Anna-Maria Balov (Berlin)

28.05.–24.06.2023

Opening: May , 26, 7pm

Opening hours: Wed–Sat 3–7pm

Tiia Matikainen

A human figure shrouded in a protective web of plants and soil is at the core of Tiia Matikainen’s latest sculptures. Forms of roots and sand dunes sculpt on clay surface assume the form of strange woodland inhabitants. For the artist these sculptures are guardian figures, a protective layer between human and the surrounding world.

The forest and Finnish mythology related to that are important inspirations for the artistic work of Matikainen. One of the most interesting is the idea of being hidden by the forest. Spirits may lure those moving about there, to become lost in an absurd world and vanish from the view of others.

Being hidden by the forest represents not only fear but also security and connection to nature, for the forest and its flora protect us and all life on our planet.
– To be one with the forest so that finally you feel that you have been lost in its depths.
Tiia Matikainen (b. 1975, Kitee, Finland) is a sculptor and ceramics artist. She completed The Master of Arts degree at University of Art and Design Helsinki in 2002, and presently lives and works in Mänttä.

Further information: http://www.tiiamatikainen.com

Kabinett:

Annamaria Balov

Annamaria Balov nähert sich in ihrer Ausstellung „intmimate spaces“ dem Thema intergenerationelles Trauma an. Inspiriert von der Architektur und Ästhetik der 1970er Jahre in (Süd-)Osteuropa, begann die Künstlerin unterschiedliche Motive – darunter Plattenbauten, zu replizieren, indem sie Holzschnitte anfertigte und diese zum Drucken verwendete. Durch die gewählte Acrylfarbe verhielten sich die Linien unbeständig und der Prozess des Replizierens trat in den Vordergrund. Diese Vorgehensweise spiegelt sich auch in den Malereien der Künstlerin wider: So malte sie Badezimmer und Toiletten aus der Erinnerung an Kindheitstage in Nordmazedonien, dem Heimatland ihrer Familie väterlicherseits.

Die Produktion unbeständiger Replikate, das Malen nach allmählich verblassenden Erinnerungen – mit diesen Methoden ergründet Annamaria Balov die Frage, in welcher Form die Spuren vergangener Generationen sich wandeln, verebben und Menschen in der Gegenwart beeinflussen. In der Ausstellung „intimate spaces“ präsentiert Annamaria Balov verschiedene Holzdrucke, Zeichnungen und Malereien mit experimentellen, grafischen, malerischen und illustrativen Elementen.

Annamaria Balov ist eine Berliner Künstlerin, Zeichnerin und Webdesignerin. Als Tochter des verstorbenen Künstlers und Projektraumleiters Jovan Balov war sie oft an der Projektdurchführung verschiendener Veranstaltungen im Prima Center Berlin beteiligt. 2021 realisierte sie im Prima Center Berlin ihre erste Einzelausstellung “ME”, 2018 beteiligte sie sich an der Gruppenausstellung “Man up – Man Down” zum Thema Männlichkeitsbilder.

English

Annamaria Balov approaches the theme of intergenerational trauma in her exhibition “intmimate spaces”. Inspired by the architecture and aesthetics of 1970s (South) Eastern Europe, the artist began to replicate different motifs – including prefabricated buildings – by making woodcuts and using them for printing. Due to the acrylic paint chosen, the lines behaved unsteadily and the process of replication came to the fore. This approach is also reflected in the artist’s paintings: she painted bathrooms and toilets from memories of childhood days in northern Macedonia, the homeland of her paternal family.

The production of impermanent replicas, painting from gradually fading memories – with these methods Annamaria Balov explores the question of how the traces of past generations change, ebb away and influence people in the present. In the exhibition “intimate spaces” Annamaria Balov presents various wood prints, drawings and paintings with experimental, graphic, painterly and illustrative elements.

Annamaria Balov is a Berlin-based artist, draughtswoman and web designer. As the daughter of the late artist and project space director Jovan Balov, she was often involved in the project implementation of various events at Prima Center Berlin. In 2021 she realised her first solo exhibition “ME” at Prima Center Berlin, in 2018 she participated in the group exhibition “Man up – Man Down” on the topic of images of masculinity.

Galerie/Projektraum TOOLBOX
Koloniestraße 120
13359 Berlin-Wedding
U-Bahn Osloerstraße

Wed– Sat 3–7pm
An Feiertagen ist die Toolbox geschlossen
On Bank holidays Toolbox is closed

Pilvi Ojala Artwork with skeletton
April 21, 2023

Before and After
29.04.–20.05.2023

Pilvi Ojala (Finnland)

Painting, collage, installation

Toolbox Kabinett: Jakob Roepke (Berlin)

29.04–20.05.2023

Opening: April, 28, 7pm

Opening hours: Wed–Sat 3–7pm

Pilvi Ojala

My interest is how things are installed. For example, stage design, illusions, artificial and “authentic” are themes that intrigue my mind. In addition to that I am as well interested in museums. Such as art museums, historical museums and biological, scientific, theatre and movie museums, not to forget the museums that show any kind of curiosities.

As a person I am curious. As an Artist I shift from technique and media to another which might seem to be a disability to concentrate. I paint, I draw, I make animation and I build three-dimensional works. Although for me the basic motive as an artis is to collect all kinds of visual material, to edit it and to compose a visual piece of art. I am like a collector who observes, discovers, and digests the world around me.

For me Art is a medium to combine various interests of mine and therefore a way to create a kind of personal Wunderkammer. It is a way to express myself and an attempt to try to place myself in the World and to try to understand it.

Galerie/Projektraum TOOLBOX
Koloniestraße 120
13359 Berlin-Wedding
U-Bahn Osloerstraße

Wed– Sat 3–7pm
An Feiertagen ist die Toolbox geschlossen
On Bank holidays Toolbox is closed

Antero Kahila
March 8, 2023

Clothes of Strangers, Faces of Others
31.3.–22.04.2023

Antero Kahila, visual artist
Kirsi Poutanen, poet-musician

painting, sound installation

Toolbox Kabinett: Kata Unger, Berlin

for German, please scroll down

Welcome to our opening on Friday, March 31, on 7pm

Opening times: Wed– Sat 15–19
Kolonie weekend: Fri 31. 03 2023: 19–22 ,  Sun 02. 04. 2023;  14–18

Clothes of Strangers, Faces of Others is the second multidisciplinary collaboration for Galerie Toolbox by visual artist Antero Kahila and musician-poet Kirsi Poutanen. In their previous project the couple explored the experience of meaning and its possibility for the contemporary individual. This time their themes are insecurity, disintegration and loneliness. Clothes of Strangers, Faces of Others consists of a two-channel sound installation by Poutanen and thematically linked paintings of clothes and faces by Kahila.

Antero Kahila is an acclaimed and award-winning visual artist and painter from Finland. The recurring thematic focus in his most recent paintings is on humanity and the human condition, which is explored through the depiction of skin, bodies, faces, fabrics, clothes and membranes. These elements tend to appear as interfaces between the identifying subject and the world, between the subject and the other. The space in Kahila’s paintings is often a kind of reduced stage that permits the depiction of the desired function, gesture or act. Humanity as seen in Kahila’s art is often fragile, vulnerable yet tuned to consciousness in a highly distinctive way.

Kirsi Poutanen is an all-round artist and well-known singer, musician and poet based in Finland. She has also featured on stage as an actress, performer and scriptwriter. Poutanen constructed her sound installation by closely attuning her creative work to Kahila’s process of painting. Her installation aims to reflect the thematic world of the paintings while resonating as an independent audio image in the gallery.

Kahila and Poutanen’s Clothes of Strangers, Faces of Others is a complex and multi-sensory project that can be viewed from many perspectives that deals with the topics insecurity, fear of disintegration, and loneliness.

Artwork: Rose Garden, 2023, Antero Kahila, oil on cotton, 270 x 200 cm

Deutsch

Clothes of Strangers, Faces of Others

[Kleidung von Fremden, Gesichter von Anderen]

Antero Kahila, Bildender Künstler
Kirsi Poutanen, Dichterin-Musikerin

Malerei, Soundinstallation

Toolbox Kabinett: Kata Unger, Berlin

Herzliche Einladung zur Eröffnung am  Freitag, 31.  März um 19 Uhr

Öffnungszeiten: Mi,  Fr , Sa 15–19 Uhr und Do 16–20 Uhr
Kolonie-Wochenende: Fr 31. 03. 2023: 19–22 Uhr ,  So 02. 04. 2023;  14–18 Uhr

Clothes of Strangers, Faces of Others ist die zweite multidisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit des bildenden Künstlers Antero Kahila und der Dichterin-Musikerin Kirsi Poutanen für die Galerie Toolbox. Ihr voriges Projekt beschäftigte sich damit, wie das zeitgenössische Individuum Bedeutung erfährt und welche Möglichkeiten sich dadurch eröffnen. In der neuen Arbeit sind die Themen Unsicherheit, Desintegration und Einsamkeit. Clothes of Strangers, Faces of Others besteht aus einer 2-Kanal-Soundinstallation von Poutanen und Kahilas thematisch Bezug nehmenden Gemälden von Kleidung und Gesichtern.

Antero Kahila ist ein anerkannter und preisgekrönter bildender Künstler und Maler aus Finnland. Der thematische Schwerpunkt seiner jüngsten Bilder liegt auf dem Menschsein und dem menschlichen Zustand, dem er sich in der Darstellung von Haut, Körpern, Gesichtern, Textilien, Kleidung und Membranen nähert. Diese Elemente fungieren als Schnittstellen zwischen dem identitätsbildenden Subjekt und der Welt, zwischen dem Subjekt und dem Anderen. Der Raum in Kahilas Gemälden ist oft eine Art reduzierter Bühne, die die Abbildung der gewünschten Funktion, Geste oder Handlung erlaubt. Die Menschheit, wie sie in Kahilas Kunst erscheint, ist oft zerbrechlich, verletzlich, dabei aber in einer sehr distinkten Weise auf Bewusstheit ausgerichtet.

Kirsi Poutanen ist eine sehr vielseitige Künstlerin und bekannte Sängerin, Musikerin und Dichterin aus Finnland. Sie hat auch als Schauspielerin und Performerin sowie als Skriptschreiberin für die Bühne gewirkt. Poutanen hat ihre Soundinstallation entwickelt, indem sie ihre kreative Arbeit eng auf Kahilas Malprozess abgestimmt hat. Die Installation spiegelt die thematische Welt der Gemälde wider, während sie auch als eigenständiges Klangbild im Galerieraum zu hören ist.

Kahilas und Poutanens Clothes of Strangers, Faces of Others ist ein komplexes und mit verschiedenen Sinnen zu erfahrendes Projekt, das unter vielen Gesichtspunkten betrachtet werden kann, darunter Unsicherheit, Angst vor dem Ausgeschlossenwerden und Einsamkeit.

Abb.: Rose Garden, 2023, Antero Kahila, Öl auf Baumwolle, 270 x 200 cm

Galerie/Projektraum TOOLBOX
Koloniestraße 120
13359 Berlin-Wedding
U-Bahn Osloerstraße

Wed, Fri-Sat 15-19, Thu 16-20
An Feiertagen ist die Toolbox geschlossen
On Bank holidays Toolbox is closed

Painting Kimi Somervuori
February 14, 2023

A Horse With A Name
26.02.–25.03.2023

Kim Somervuori (Fi)

Malerei / Zeichnung | painting / drawing

Toolbox Kabinett: Ute Lindner (Berlin)

Welcome to our opening on Friday, Februar 24, on 7pm

Opening times: Wed,  Fri. , Sat 15–19 and  Thu 16–20 Uhr
Kolonie weekend:   Fri: 19–22 ,  Sun: 14–18

Find attached the Kolonieflyer with all open spaces on the Kolonie Weekend

Kim Somervuori (b. 1975) represents his own unique style, swimming against the current of contemporary Finnish painting. The themes of his artwork draws widely from art and culture; alongside Modernist history of painting, there is a presence of both classic Western poetry and alternative hits of popular music. His gritty painting style has been honed to perfection. The strokes are skilful, as if they were made effortlessly. The composition falls into place as if by itself. And yet, everything is carefully crafted: The materials and handiwork are present. They are not hidden but they are still discreet. The artwork can be viewed without being aware of the presence of the artist. Consequently, Somervuori doesn’t charge his paintings with angst, doesn’t delve in action painting nor aestheticizes by reduction. The mainly good-humoured artworks rife with cultural references are rich and thoughtfully painted. The titles of the artworks matter, should the viewer want to find context offered by the artist, but this is by no means necessary. The weave of visual elements is sure to offer something for everyone.

Curator and gallerist Veikko Halmetoja has been working with Kim Somervuori for already a decade. Somervuori has held four solo exhibitions at Halmetoja’s gallery, but the collaboration between the curator and the artist has also proved fruitful in other exhibitions and projects. Somervuori’s exhibition at Toolbox is his first solo exhibition in Berlin. It has been organized by the artist in collaboration with Gallery Halmetoja.

Kim Somervuori’s art has been acquired in numerous significant Finnish art collections. The largest series of Somervuori’s artworks can be found in Kiasma, in the collection donated by Seppo Fränti to the Finnish National Gallery. Somervuori has graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki after previous art studies in Stockholm.

Photo artwork

Kimi Somervuori, Crysis, 2023
acrylics, ink on canvas
30 x 25 cm

Galerie/Projektraum TOOLBOX
Koloniestraße 120
13359 Berlin-Wedding
U-Bahn Osloerstraße

Wed, Fri-Sat 15-19, Thu 16-20
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On Bank holidays Toolbox is closed