Anu Tuominen: Forester

April 12-27, 2008

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  Art-U room is pleased to present the second solo show in Tokyo by a Finnish artist, Anu Tuominen.

 

  Anu Tuominen turns her attention to materials and tools, with which everyone is familiar, such as kitchen utensils and stationery, and appropriates them through simple acts of knitting, cutting or arranging. Her works often involve aspects of craft; making a necklace by threading bead-like shortened pieces of pencils, or transforming old gloves into vessels or little animals by sewing them together. Although they all originate in concepts, they carry a sense of warmth, often concealing humor for which one cannot help bursting into a laugh. The artist carefully observes and analyses each object’ s form and function, and the quality and colors inherent in materials. While maintaining the original state of an object, she gives a second life to it, triggering an endless chain of imagination for a viewer as in a word-association game.

 

  Tuominen shifts her focus from the kitchen themes of her previous exhibition to outdoor nature for this exhibition, presenting works dealing with materials and subject matter associated with forests. Seventy percent of the artist’ s home country, Finland, is covered with forest. Although an increasing number of people leave the forest to live in cities these days, the

forest is and will remain the heart and soul of many Finns. Tuominen also spent her childhood in a remote rural area surrounded by forest, and grew up experiencing the bounty of the forest, leading to numerous little discoveries and giving her a sense of peace and a bit of awe. For the artist, however, forest and nature are perfect, transcending their role as inspirations for her

creativity. It is conceivable to interpret the works for this show as Tuominen’ s way of showing her dedication to the forest that gives us quiet revelations.

 

  We are also pleased to announce a launch of 'Thinkables', Anu Tuominen’ s new monograph in English. Categorized by 61 terms, such as ‘Colour’, ‘Crocheting’, ‘Shoes’, ‘Squared paper’, this worth-a-look book consists of artist’ s memorandum-style writings, recording creative ideas and images of outputs based on these ideas.

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●  Opening hours: Tue.-Sat. 12:00-19:00. Sun.12:00-17:00. / closed Mon. and National holidays

●  Reception with the artist : April 11, 18:00 - 20:00

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■ Supported by The Finnish Institute in Japan

 

[Press Release (PDF)]