Ville Kylätasku: Intermission

Ville Kylätasku: Intermission
Galerie Forsblom 12.2.–6.3.2016
Opening with the artist in attendance, 11.2.2015, 5.00–7.00 pm

Existential contemplations take center stage in Intermission, Ville Kylätasku’s (b. 1979) Studio exhibition at Galerie Forsblom. Kylätasku explores existential themes both on the level of the reality we see and experience and within the context of perceptual psychology. Painted on transparent plastic, his works are like way stations in eternity, or lifescapes, the base metaphorically serving as the invisible surface upon which reality unfolds.

Painted on foggy sheets of hi-tech PVC, the paintings evince the artist’s fascination for different materials and processes. His choice of materials is based on scientific fact: 99.99999% of each atom is empty space, and our visual reality is constructed around this void. The cloudiness of the plastic endows the paintings with a sense of weightlessness evoking a mindscape.

The exhibition delves into the perceptual psychology of flipsides and reversals. Kylätasku applies the paint on the reverse side, trapping it beneath a haze of plastic. Both physically and temporally, the normal order of the painting process and the viewing experience is flipped back to front: the very first brushstrokes applied to the canvas show in the foreground closest to the viewer. The outer reality of the painting turns inside-out, becoming inner reality: our perceptions gel into a complete gestalt not on the canvas but in our consciousness.

Kylätasku’s work is represented in collections including the Artists’ Association of Finland and the Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art as well as numerous private collections internationally. The artist lives and works in Berlin.