Gallery Napa, from January 13 through February 6
The starting point of my project is personal. In the past, I wanted to create works that relate to current social issues. Now I try to approach painting from a new perspective, where themes emerge from my own life. One of the inspirations for my recent works has been the Finnish word kuolinpesä. In English it translates to “legal estate”, but in Finnish, it combines the words kuolema (death) and pesä (nest). These words evoke contrasting images: one connected to the unknown, emptiness and the end of everything, while the other brings to mind warmth, home, and safety.
In the wake of my parents’ passing in the spring of 2022, I have gathered background material for my paintings by recording the surroundings of a terraced house they once owned. These paintings center around the garden, a once intimate space that was shaped by human hands, transformed into a fragment of human culture, distanced from nature, but now devoid of activity. Rather than focusing on the events that led to my parents’ passing, my exhibition introduces abstract and expressive works that explore themes of beginning, growth, end, and continuity within the confines of everyday life.
My legal estate-themed works are being showcased in three parts. The first installment was presented at B-Gallery in Turku during the summer of 2023. Gallery Napa is now hosting the second part, and the final installment will be on display at Gallery Joella in Turku in March 2024.
Opening of the exhibition at Gallery Napa on Friday the 12th of January, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Welcome!
Artist’s contact info:
- E-mail:
- Homepage: henrituominen.com
- Instagram: @henri.johannes
Featured artwork: Punainen omenapuu (Red apple tree), 2023, oil on birch plywood, 32 x 26,5 cm.