27.9.–20.10.2024

Welcome to the exhibition opening on Thursday, September 26th from 17:00–19:00! 

Jan Lütjohann’s recent works are made from curved pieces of reclaimed timber. Using only hand tools, Lütjohann has carved the wood into repeating round shapes. The resulting ooooooo-shaped sculptures touch on ideas of repetition and quantity: doing the same thing again and again, annual growth rings of a tree, cycles of days and years, chains of events, or generations of trees or people.

The wood in the exhibition is reclaimed from sites of construction, logging, park maintenance, and other places where trees had been cut down. The works were often carved on site, in conversation with the people who work at the location or live in the area. Under the previous title Daylight, Traces, Talks, this ongoing work has since 2020 taken the form of carving workshops, sculptures, exhibitions, and a public artwork for the city of Helsinki.

At Galleria Sculptor there are three groups of ooooooo-shaped sculptures. Works hewn from trunks are laid on the floor, similar to how they were found and made. Works carved from branches are hung on the wall, and the ones cut from sticks are spread over the windowsills. Each stick was carved while hosting one of many workshops, leading to an ever-growing library of small carvings and conversations. The types of wood used include maple, birch, beech, oak, ash, asp, alder, acacia, cherry, chestnut, spruce, pine, rowan, hazel, and two types of unidentified tree that grows in Taipei. The pieces were found from Helsinki, Turku, Kemiönsaari, Mustarinda, Nida, Wrocław, Tallinn, Taipei, Gothenburg, and Stockholm.

Lütjohann’s artistic work towards this project has been supported by Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Finnish Cultural Foundation, The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, Kone Foundation, Swedish Arts Grants Committee and IASPIS, Titanik Gallery, BWA Wrocław, Goethe Institutes of Krakow and Tallinn, Tallinn Art Hall, Nida Art Colony, HAM Helsinki Art Museum, Sagalund, Treasure Hill Artist Village, all the people who have given permission to use wood, and everyone who has joined the carving workshops and shared their time.

The Finnish Heritage Agency has supported the payment of artist’s exhibition fee.

Jan Lütjohann (b. 1987, Kiel) is a sculptor and educator. He uses pre-industrial tools and obsolete technology to contemplate on working with hands in the present and future. Working entirely by hand enables him to take his tools anywhere and to connect with people and different forms of knowledge. His sculptures and installations often take the shape of tools, equipment, and workspaces. In his workshops, participants use hands and tools to reflect on their agency in their material and immaterial environment.

In conjunction with the exhibition, two workshops will be held at Galleria Sculptor:

On Wednesday 09.10. from 15:00 to 17:00 

On Saturday 12.10 from 12:00 to 14:00

At the workshops participants learn to use basic knives, carve wooden sticks collected in the city, and sharpen the knives with stones that can be found in the surroundings. The events combine carving with the sort of free-flowing conversation that happens when the hands are busy. The workshops do not require technical skill and are suitable also for beginners. 

However, the work with sharp tools requires that participants agree to follow safety instructions. The 2-hour long workshops are free of charge, and they are held in English. 

Sign up through the link.