Matti Kallioinen
Hitom
17.01—15.02.20
Gallery Steinsland Berliner is proud to present Hitom, an exhibition with new work by Swedish artist Matti Kallioinen.
The exhibition’s title, Hitom (antonym of beyond) alludes to a theoretical return from the transcendental to the chaos of the physical world. Echoed throughout the exhibition is an idea of perceptual arrangement. Through different mediums and methods, Kallioinen manipulates shape and colour (with a particular focus on “the line” as malleable and conditional) to create physical manifestations of concepts otherwise perhaps more sensed than seen. Owing to the artist’s background in installation art, the interplay between the separate parts and their relation to the whole is emphasized on all levels.
Evident in the body of work shaped throughout Kallioinen’s career up to this point in time is a proclivity for illustrating the intangible through immersive experiences. Through scale, sound and other sensory manoeuvrings, he has repeatedly created objects and spaces that disrupt the order of reflexive conclusions. The works on display in Hitom are designed to both juxtapose and realize each other, as separate elements they might demonstrate qualities of ambivalence or even disorder, joined they reach a state of equilibrium.
The works presented in Hitom range from controlled monochrome to unbridled bursts of colour. A series of black-and-white line paintings on simple panels act as baseline, graphic lines which seem to lack both direction and dimension feel uncorrupted yet uncomfortable in their vagueness. Acting in stark contrast is an extensive collection of vibrant gouache paintings. Intense and frenzied, the aforementioned line is here far removed from its previously undisturbed state. Abstract with occasional suggestions of figurativeness, as if trying to make sense of chaos, the paintings seem to mirror cognitive action. Sculptural work of either wavy plaster-formations in bright colours or linear knots and tangles are interspersed with multidimensional paintings. Throughout the exhibition is the idea of the line, its various manipulations running through the works and connecting them to form a strangely tangible ambiance.
Matti Kallioinen (b.1974, Uppsala) is a Swedish multidisciplinary artist. His practice has largely emphasized performance, music and installations. Kallioinen has participated in numerous exhibitions in Sweden and internationally as well as executed a number of public art installations. He received his education at Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts & Design.