HANCOCK -- "Mikko Kallio: The Magician" is featured at the Finlandia University Gallery, located in the Finnish American Heritage Center, Hancock, from Oct. 24 to Nov. 22, 2013.
An opening reception will take place from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. TONIGHT, Thursday, Oct. 24, at the gallery. Mikko Kallio will present an artist talk beginning at 7:15 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
"The Magician" exhibit is a collection of letter-size mixed media works on paper, accompanied by some larger works on paper. Kallio’s work examines humanity and spirituality through exploration of the playful world of a child's imagination and the wondrous world of the magician, who can make the impossible possible.
Kallio builds his detailed work in layers, over a long period of time, using ink, watercolor, pencil, and collage. Fantastical beings, wandering ascetics, clowns, and high-spirited acrobats -- floating between earth and sky -- inhabit the Finnish artist’s work. His characters create a world not found in reality.
"The humanlike characters in my work are imaginary and I never use models," he notes. "The figures interlace with very detailed abstraction: painted and drawn stripes, dots and color. The striped structures have a resemblance to the textile design and clothes that are carved into my memory since my early childhood in Finland."
Born in Espoo, Finland, Kallio now lives and works in Tampere, Finland. From 2008 to 2011, he worked as the Regional Artist in Visual Arts at the Arts Council of Pirkanmaa, Tampere. He spent the year 2012 living in New York City. His work can be viewed in the flat files of Pierogi Gallery, Brooklyn, online at http://flatfiles.pierogi2000.com/artist/mikko-kallio/.
Kallio’s work is included in the permanent collections of the State of Finland, the Helsinki Art Museum, and the City of Tampere, and has been exhibited in galleries and museums in Finland and internationally. He has received numerous grants, including grants from the Finnish Cultural Foundation. He collaborates with the international artist group, Le Dernier Cri, based in Marseille, France.
The exhibition of "The Magician" at the Finlandia University Gallery is sponsored by Finlandia University, the Arts Promotion Centre Finland, the Arts Council of Pirkanmaa (Finland), and the Frame Visual Art Finland foundation.
The Finlandia University Gallery is in the Finnish American Heritage Center, 435 Quincy Street, Hancock. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Thursday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 4 p.m.; and by appointment.
For more information, call 906-487-7500.
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