Sasa Saastamoinen |
I use techniques and principles of traditional Chinese ink painting to create contemporary artwork on paper. I am fascinated by expressive properties of ink, its various ways of mark making, and the immediacy and irreversibility of the medium. I enjoy exploring the tonal range of ink and combining it with natural plant and mineral pigments typical for Chinese ink painting.
I like to play with Chinese ink painting's concept of composition, which builds up on contrasts and uniformity. The artwork consists of opposites such as wet / dry, large / small, light / dark, empty / crowded and unifying elements such as similarities of shapes or movement. My paintings often depict flowers, not as botanical illustrations but imaginary beings, vehicles for expressing human relationships, feelings, and ideas. My latest work ventures also into portraying the contemporary urban life and landscape with ink. Exhibitions Developing Landscapes, Pump House Gallery, London, 2016 Day Dreams, Brick Lane Gallery, London, 2013 Shadow Garden, Solo, Gallery Jangva, Helsinki, 2012 |
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