Friday Bliss #202 - Wood Artist Robert Lappalainen

Old Love / Vanha rakkaus

These fabulous wood sculptures were on show at Gumbostrand Konst & Form created by Robert Lappalainen. This is how former race car driver, nowadays wood artist Lappalainen (b. 1949) presents himself:

"On my own farm, I cut down the trees myself and after drying them, unique art is created. I am excited as a little boy about my new profession, so it will be a long day at the workshop. I often sit for long periods of time in my studio and think, what I am going to do with that huge tree trunk. In the end it turns into a beautiful unique work of art. Before it is finished it has been worked for months, piece by piece towards the end result. When the piece is finished, I hug it and thank it for the wonderful time together, because the tree has done the greatest job growing for 150 years and I only spent a few months on it.”

Enchantment / Lumous

Beautiful / Kaunis

Transilluminated / Läpi valaistu

Light touch / Hento kosketus

Lotus

Daylilies are starting to bloom.

I don’t know the name of this one, but I like its brownish shade very much.

Wishing you a wonderful last weekend of July and good start to August!

The link is open

FROM FRIDAY 7 AM TILL THE NEXT TUESDAY 4 PM

Helsinki time

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Sunny Yellow

The topic of Makrotex this week is YELLOW.

Here some tulips and forget-me-nots from last year - in the colours of Ukraine.

This tulip is ’Akebono’, high with a big flower.

Then I have this piece of kinetic art by an unknown artist.

I saw it at Ars Nova, Turku and it lookeed fabulous. It felt three dimensional depending on where 

I stood and as if parts of it were floating in the air. 

❤︎❤︎❤︎

#der natur donnerstag #gartenglück #how to survive november #image-in-ing #krapu 

#makrotex / yellow #mosaic monday #my corner of the world #tuesday's treasures 

Ilya Repin at Ateneum

Ilya Repin (1844–1930) exhibition at the Ateneum Art Museum was extensive and magnificent. The exhibition is the first review of Repin's entire career in Finland in the 21st century and features more than 130 paintings and paper-based works from more than sixty years. Included are large-scale iconic paintings such as the Barge Haulers on the Volga and the Religious Procession in Kursk, although I admired more of Repin’s smaller sized works and especially the portraits in which he conjures up the model’s personality and masterfully depicts their expressions.

The Ateneum Repin pages are great. For this post, I gathered information for the photos I took (in italic). The first painting I admired was this small-scale painting below, where the interpretation of light and shadow is dazzling.

Preparing for the examination, 1864

Only 20-year-old Ilya Repin painted brothers Alexander and Alexei Shevtsov of almost his own age,

for whom reading to either does not seem to taste right now. They were the brothers of Repin’s 

future wife, Vera Shevtsova.

Repin’s wife Vera Shevtsova, 1869

Vera Shevtsova (1854–1918) was Repin’s wife from 1872–1884. They had four children: Vera (1872–1948), Nadezhda (1874–1931), Yuri (1877–1954), and Tatiana (1880–1957). Vera was 17 years old and had a good basic education, formally better than Repin himself. However, the marriage gradually became unhappy. In Moscow between 1877 and 1882, Repin became father of three different illegitimate children with family's servants. 

Repin's eldest daughter Vera Repina, 1884 - a charming work in nature!

A delicate painting of Repint's daughter Nadja, 1881.

Vera Repina, 1896

Self-portrait with Natalia Nordman, 1903

Repin entered into a relationship with Natalia Nordmann and built a studio home in Terijoki's Kuokkala, that then belonged to Finland.  The couple settled there permanently in 1903. Terijoki was a popular Finnish summer destination, where artists from various fields enjoyed themselves. Penaty's Wednesday receptions brought Russian emigrants and also Finnish artists familiar to Repin. Natalia died of tuberculosis in 1914, but Repin remained in Kuokkala.

The Bolshevik Revolution closed the Finnish-Russian border in April 1918. Repin remained as emigrant in the Finnish side and established relations with the Finnish art world. He donated works of art to the Ateneum, and in honor of this, a large celebration was held for Repin at the Helsinki Society Hall. In his art, he described his close circle, but also nostalgically sought out his youth in Ukraine as well as his religious experiences. Repin died in 1930, and his grave is in the courtyard of the studio home in Kuokkala (now Repino).

Fieldman (Author Leo Tolstoy plowing), 1887

Leo Tolstoy

Tolstoy was the closest of Russian writers to Repin. They first met in Moscow in 1880 and then, for example, on Tolstoy's estates in Jasnaya Poljana in 1887 and 1891. Repin appreciated Tolstoy's way of life, which emphasized love of neighbor and which should not be undermined by norms set by church, monarch or society. 

Author Leonid Andrejev, 1904

 M. P. Mussorgsky, 1881

Nikolai Murashko, 1882

Ucranian Woman, 1875

Self-portrait, 1887

What Freedom!, 1903

This large painting is a Public Domain image from the web. It amazed with its difference. 

 

Repin sketched the painting on the shores of the Gulf of Finland in Kuokkala. His contemporaries gave the work symbolic interpretations: the painting was like a praise to youth and students who were ready for great upheavals and changes like natural forces. Repin himself dismissed all the hidden meanings of his painting: “What a supposed metaphor! … That's just a student dancing masurka with a course girl, that's all! ” According to one interpretation, in the painting one could see Repin rejoicing at how Kuokkala's home had become his and Natalia Nordmann's permanent residence at the time.

Safe distances were maintained at the Ateneum and the number of visitors was limited.

Tickets had to be purchased in advance. A wonderful exhibition!

❤︎❤︎❤︎

#der natur donnerstag #garden affair #gartenglück #image-in-ing #makrotex 

#my corner of the world #tuesday’s treasures #t in die neue woche #wednesday around the world

Gumbostrand Konst & Form

Gumbostrand Konst & Form is an art center founded in 2012, which includes

an art gallery, a design shop and a bistro focusing on classic Scandinavian flavors.

The entity was established in K. Hartwall's old factory environment, where bottle caps were 

reportedly made earlier. Konst & Form enjoys a scenic location by the sea

in Sipoo’s Gumbostrand. The ocean views were stunning. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time 

to take landscape photos (kids involved!), but I want to go there again to admire.

The space was nicely renovated, high and spacious. I especially liked Anu Penttinen's

colorful and imaginative glass objects. 

Take a look at the link that introduces the artists of their summer exhibition.

 Anu Penttinen's glass objects were colorful & shiny.

 

Åsa Hellman - Eight Black Tulips

Kuva: Konst & Form

Marja Hepo-aho's Gumbo fox was so cute and available in different colors. 

Tuomo Saali's Maa-ilma / The World was amazing. There is a play of words as in Finnish 

the world is maailma. If you split it in two syllables as maa-ilma it says earth-air.

Luke Nicol

I hope this post fits to Tom’s Tuesday’s treasures, even if these objects are not old.

❤︎❤︎❤︎

#der natur donnerstag #garden affair #gartenglück #image-in-ing #makrotex /shiny

#my corner of the world #tuesday’s treasures #t in die neue woche #wednesday around the world