11.11. — 4.12.2022

Taru Happonen’s latest exhibition Cosmic Zoom at Forum Box aspires to comprehensiveness both in the artist’s choice of materials and in the subject matter of the works. Happonen uses materials classified as natural materials as well as plastic; although it is good to notice that plastic also originates from nature. Happonen’s material palette this time includes oil paint, pearlescent pigment, recycled plastic and linen. The multi-materiality of the painting shows up also in the framing, as the artist frames her small linen-based works with recycled plastic frames. These material combinations expand the understanding of the possible materials of a painting.

The artist describes her work as follows: “The starting point of my works is to look at organisms and the environment from microscopic close and far from a cosmic scale. The works examine the earth as it is, complex and constantly changing. Contemplation is gentle – I have equal respect and wonder for different species, materials, and environments. Central to my new works are patterns that occur in nature at different scales.” Happonen is inspired, for example, by the wings of butterflies, the structure of cells, the star nebula and aerial photographs depicting the human-built environment. In this respect, she follows a tradition where the artist’s work examines both the details and the broad perspectives of the world. Her work is like practicing practical philosophy in a material form with the means of contemporary art and in its context.

Juha-Heikki Tihinen

Taru Happonen (b. 1989) is finishing her Master studies in Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki. She has exhibited her works actively in Finland and abroad, most recently at Saatchi Gallery in London and Galleria Huuto in Helsinki. Her works are in the art collections of the State of Finland and HUS. She is a member of the Finnish Painters’ Union.

www.taruhapponen.com
IG: @taruhapponen