ANNE KOSKINEN

AM ANDEREN ENDE DER LEINE

Anne Koskinen has always been interested in the formation of meaning, how images come to be and how and where their meaning is formed. In her latest exhibition, she has taken a concious step away form her conceptual, analytical approach, and allowed herself a maximum freedom to choose subjects in a way a child or an adolescent would – from her near surroundings and everyday life.

The works of the exhibition unfurl the relationship of a human and animal. They form a story, and carry the multiple layers of intervowen contradictions of a life with a pet: the opposites between the cuddly comfort of a soft bed and dangers lurking in the dark, between loving care and control, trust and fear, the sweet and the rough.

The oil paintings draw on the German and continental history of art from the sanguine base drawings and translucent layers of glaze, mixing the straightforwardness of early renaissance with the cool realism of Neue Sachlichkeit of the 20’s.

The names add an additional level of loops in creating meanings – the paintings are all named in German. Still, for the artist, the main focus is in the communicational power of an image on its own, separated from language: important is not was (what), but wie (how).

PRESS RELEASE

Some paintings of the exhibition are named with idioms – phrases usually tied to a language in such a way that translation becomes difficult if not impossible. While translations can lose layers and distort the content, the reward of unlooping the multiple knots of meaning can also add to the experience and levels to the painting itself.

In the painting Andere Tonart, a pile of twisting leather leashes lift their ends and transform into a Medusa-like nervous system. The name of the painting translates roughly to A Different Tone, and refers to a change on another level: a shift in the use of language in relation to time.

The leashes rest on a pale beige canvas, painted in a colour that has changed its name since Koskinen last bought the paint tone a couple of decades ago. As the old tube ran out, the painting that started with the tone called Hautton (flesh tint), was eventually finished with Heller Ocker gebrannt (burnt ochre light).

Documentary film on anne koskinen

MEERI KOUTANIEMI – IRTI KUVASTA

An episode from Irti Kuvasta, photographer Meeri Koutaniemi's eight-part documentary series on art that aired on the Finnish broadcasting company YLE in 2021, concentrated on the art practice of Anne Koskinen.

The episode was shot at Karuna in Southwest Finland, where Anne creates her stone sculptures – the same landscape to which she has set some of her newest paintings. The focus is on Anne Koskinen's sculpting process following the artist as she works and discusses her thoughts behind her art and practice with Meeri Koutaniemi. The episode culminates in a portrait shooting session with Koutaniemi.

The language of the series is Finnish and the show can be viewed on the national streaming service YLE Areena.

WATCH HERE

ANNE KOSKINEN

Anne Koskinen (b. 1969) employs a wide range of techniques, whose approach merges the German tradition of visual art with strong personal reflection. She is a versatile artist mastering several techniques, from marble or stone sculptures to detailed paintings, drawings, bronzes, and installations.

Anne Koskinen studied in Germany at the Karlsruhe Academy of Fine Arts and the University of Freiburg, and in Finland at the University of Art and Design and the University of Helsinki, where she is currently working on her doctoral thesis in Aesthetics. This autumn, works by Anne Koskinen are on show also at the Salo Art Museum as well as the Hämeenlinna Art Museum, and in recent years she has exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions, including the Axel Pairon gallery in Knokke, Belgium; Galerie Werner Klein in Cologne, and HAM and Kiasma in Helsinki. In addition to private collections, she has work in prestigious public collections both in Finland and internationally.

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ANNE KOSKINEN: Am anderen Ende der Leine

AM ANDEREN ENDE DER LEINE

Documentary film on anne koskinen

ANNE KOSKINEN