Gallery Katariina presents Mira Kankaanranta’s exhibition 23 June – 16 July, 2023.
Welcome to the exhibition opening on Thursday, 22 June 5–7 pm!
Image: Mira Kankaanranta – Aurinko hellii, oil on canvas, 55×50 cm, 2022
Mira Kankaanranta: I will finally become a bird
Mira Kankaanranta chooses ideas for her oil paintings from the surrounding landscapes of her everyday life. In her paintings, natural elements and vegetation become intertwined with human figures in such a way that they can no longer be separated. Kankaanranta’s paintings are influenced by her external perceptions of the world, but especially by her own inner emotions.
“I observe the surrounding landscape and the small details of nature. I feel strongly the different shades of sky and earth, the shapes of branches, the splendour of flowers and movement of birds. These observations and sensations go through a process in my head and are transferred in some form into paintings. When I start a painting, I don’t know what will come out of it. When I am working, I am looking for something essential that I do not yet know to be there. I add and remove paint, add and cover until I have found something important and arresting to me and yet I still don’t necessarily know what that something is. My painting process is a constant search and balance between thoughtful details and spontaneous painting. I reflect on the ephemeral nature of humanity, the transience of things, the vulnerability and incompleteness. I think about contradictions, balance and the longing to blend into nature.”
Mira Kankaanranta (b. 1983) is a visual artist from Tornio, living and working in Salo, Teijo village. She graduated as a visual artist from Saimaa University of Applied Sciences in 2012. She has presented her work in several solo and group exhibitions around Finland. Her works are found in the collections of The Finnish State Art Commission, the City of Rovaniemi and the Aine Art Museum.
GALLERY KATARIINA
Rikhardinkatu 1, 00130 Helsinki
+358 50 550 3811
Tue–Fri 11am–5pm, Sat–Sun 12–4pm
Exceptions regarding gallery opening hours:
Midsummer weekend (23–25 June) closed.