Road - Markku Arantila

18.06.-15.09.2019

Markku Arantila

Finnish artist Arantila paints an imaginary world, which seems to come from children’s fairy-tales. His works depict being on a journey and the purpose of the journey is adventure. The artist does not plan his paintings ahead; it is as if his brush wiped off the surface that hides the world beneath. If he didn’t paint, no one would know about that world, not even himself.

The people in the paintings are the artist’s fantasy friends, jokers who are not limited by the rules of the real world. Jokers are like a psychological replacement valve, which is why people have always painted them. They embody the first person character who has been stripped of the vulgarity of everyday life.

It is said that grown-ups do not have imaginary friends, yet they do. Grown-ups have often lost the imagination and their sincere playfulness and replaced them with grotesque real-life characters without really perceiving it. As a fantasy friend, the joker is a wonderful leader. The nuclear button, however, should not be left within the reach of the real-world players.

According to Arantila, the task of the artist is to remind people that they should not abandon their imagination and become prisoners of their social achievement-oriented selves.

The artist paints a house of perfection and moves in.

The exhibition was supported by the Estonian Cultural Endowment.