Exhibition / Teemu Mäki: Lapsellista / tm•galleria

“I’ll exhibit new paintings and drawings. They are portraits of children, adults and landscapes or allegories about human kind’s relationship with other humans or nature. Many of the works are homages to painters (or other artists) whose works have nourished me for decades. Max Beckmann, Lena Cronqvist, R. W. Fassbinder, Alberto Giacometti, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Hilma af Klint, Maria Lassnig and Galina Ustvolskaya are among them. I’ve painted thinking of them or even made variations of their paintings.

The name of the show could be CHILDISH, since I’ve tried to paint with childish abandon: “Oh, what a lovely view from Vasikka Island to Helsinki, I’ll paint a picture of it.” or “What a great visual idea in that painting by Cronqvist, I’ll paint my version of it and call it Bad Therapy.”

Many of my paintings also deal with childhood or perceive human species as a kind of child that has not yet learned how to live — not with others or with nature. One of the works in the show is thus called Humans at Their Own Mercy.

It’s been a long time since I had a solo show of only paintings and drawings in Helsinki. The previous one of this kind was in Forum Box Gallery in 2007 — but even there I showed not only paintings and drawings, but also some photos and etchings. Because of this I’m super happy to have a show at the gallery of Painters’ Union right now!

In recent years I’ve worked more as a writer, as a director of theatre, film and opera and as a photographic artist than as a painter. All the time I’ve kept on painting too — occasionally even full-time, as I did from Midsummer 2020 to Midsummer 2021. I love painting, its history and contemporary forms are an inexhaustible source of joy to me.”

Helsinki, 1.7.2021

Teemu Mäki //
Artist, Writer, Director, Researcher (Doctor of Fine Arts)
Chairman of The Artists’ Association of Finland