Simo Ripatti (Fi) and Patrick Huber (Berlin) in Toolbox.
Opening: 26. 7. 2024, 7pm, you#re welcome!
Exhibition 28.7.–24.8.2024
Simo Ripatti Possessed, 2023 Videoinstallation
The work describes observation based on memory and how continuous observation of new things affects the memory image reliability. The starting point is my thoughts on the contingencies of existence and events and how they meet one’s own understanding and thereby form a point of view. Formed through this the point of view also determines how the memory is colored and how long you can consider the memory reliable. Perception is the basis for connecting to reality, but only comparing to memory, memory and perception questioning and conscious thinking form a reliable experience. In my opinion, it is in many ways the characteristic that defines the experience of this work.
Patrick Huber
Drawings and Objects
Patrick Huber: Füßeln – from the series “Techtelmechtel”wood, wax, approx 100 x 40 cm
Yö ry Artists’ Association is an advocacy organization for professional artists from various fields, primarily operating in Helsinki. YÖ in BERLIN is a group exhibition organized by Yö ry, featuring works by its member artists. Yö has over 300 member artists and a gallery in Helsinki on Lönnrotinkatu. The space is free for all exhibiting artists, not just members of the association. At the core of Yö is its members’ desire to act. Yö ry is not merely an artist-run gallery but a coalition of proactive and enthusiastic professionals from various fields. Yö is a movement and community, whose large membership enables even the most ambitious initia- tives to be realized.
YÖ IN BERLIN is the first exhibition exchange between Yö ry and Galerie Toolbox. The exhi- bition is curated by Toolbox’s founding members together with Yö ry members Mia Makela and Henriikka Pöllänen.
Yö’s exhibition at Galerie Toolbox includes video art, visual art, and a portfolio showcase, where you can browse the works of Yö’s member artists on a screen. The video works and portfolios were selected through an open call.
All the videos have been produced during 2020´s. The video works have been curated into 3 different screening programs. Remnants of the Wild presents videos exploring our partner- ships to non-human world from Earth Forces, Mia Makela and Lau Rämö. Tapestry of Time contains video works unraveling the echoes of past in the present time from Johanna Väisä- nen, Hanna Råst, Joonas Jokiranta and Airbakers (Toivola & Wager). Close Encounters presents a collection of videos focused on exploring intimacy through per- formance art from Juhani Koivumäki, Kainulainen&Latva, Mari Hokkanen, Eoin O`Dowd, To Kosie, Henttu&Nummi&Kin and Ginko Hsu.
The paintings and sculptures in the exhibition bring forth the diversity of materials. Isabel Pathirane’s paintings are bound together by the strong use of color and expressiveness. Tuo- mas Holst blurs the lines between painting and sculpture with works that are made from re- cycled materials. Krista Blomqvist’s series “Creatures of the Night” consists of paintings on copper, which evolve over time as the copper itself changes. The glass sculptures of Henriik- ka Pöllänen and Kimmo Reinikka bring out different dimensions of glass as material.
Curatorial team consisted of Toolbox founding members Maija Helasvuo and Niina Räty in collaboration with Yö Association board members Mia Mäkelä and Henriikka Pöllänen.
Opening program includes a performance from Tapani Pirog and an opening talk by Yö cura- torial team. Some of the artists will be present. Artist meetings on Saturday 1. 6 from 16 until 20 at the gallery.
We cordially invite you to the opening with works by Joakim Sederholm and Anton Laiko on Friday, 29 March 2024 from 7 pm.
I have always tried to express humanity with my work. I have expressed what it meens to be a fragile human being. I hope my art would increase tolerance and understanding between people. Often my work take the shape of a man or woman and sometimes a dog. I mostly use wood as material.
Joakim Sederholm
Artwork. Sorrow, 2023, 21 x 21 x 83 cm, painted wood
Exhibition: 25.2-23.3.2024 Open on Kolonie Weekend, Sun 25.02. 24, 2–6pm
Toolbox Kabinett: Hildegard Skowasch
Iris Germanica, a plain flower seen all over Europe Iris Germanica is Goddess of Everything Iris Germanica is my sad song of time passing by
I think my painting as a living organism. In the beginning there is a seed of idea, something that bothers me and wants to see the light. First painting is a sprout, second is a leaf, third is maybe a flower and ten paintings makes a body. I’d say: I paint for pleasure, pleasure of the recognition: that’s what it’s meant to be! I’d hope: there are seeds of all seen sprinkled on you!
In my painting I’m guided by association and desire. I want to paint something that I yet never saw, but still when seeing it feels obvious. This feeling of recognition is what declares painting ready.
I moved to Berlin ten years ago, and while painting these paintings I also relived that time, time that made life permanently dichotomous, it goes on two tracks.
Iris Germanica is fragmented saga about time, loss, immigration, nation, myth, botanic, cities and evolution. Some parts were lost, some altered, its old but not original. It’s sincere but not true.
I am a visual artist based in Helsinki and Berlin. I did my MFA degree in 2011 in University of Fine Arts in Helsinki, where I’m also doing my PhD about meanings of colours an seeing. My works were shown in several soloshows and group exhibitions in Finland, Denmark and Germany like Helsinki Kunsthalle, Forum Box Gallery and Kunst am Spreeknie/Transformart festival.
Siiri Haarla Helsinki 23.1.2024
artwork: Iris Germanica ‘Nibelungen’ oil painting on canvas, 140x100cm, 2023
Toolbox Kabinett: Hildegard Skowasch
Hildegard Skowasch
*born in Essen. Lives and works in Berlin.
Studied at the Kunstakademie Münster and at the Ecole supérieure des Arts Plastiques, Tourcoing (France).
Hildegard Skowasch’s work focuses on sculpture (paper/ceramics), drawing and printmaking. Starting from form, she uses different materials to create projection surfaces and a world of her own with shifts in content, possibilities and perspectives on being.
She is the initiator of artistic collaborations such as the “Hildegard Project” and “Generator”.
Since 1989, she has held numerous residencies, including at Künstlerhaus Schloss Wiepersdorf, the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, USA, the Saari residence of the Kone Foundation, Finland and the KKVV Luleå, Sweden.
She exhibits internationally.
In 2019, she was represented with a comprehensive exhibition at the Polish National Museum in Gdansk and in 2022 with another major solo exhibition at the BWA Municipal Gallery in Olsztyn.
She is showing ceramic wall works in the Toolbox Gallery cabinet.
Hildegard Skowasch, untitled, 2019,ceramics glazed, ca 20 x 20 x 20 cm
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
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 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?
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).
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.
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
