MIKKO HINTZ & INGA MELDERE. Hidden matter

Mikko Hintz works with abstract painting. His new works explore the relationship of form, colour and the painterly process. Hintz has found interesting shapes in surfboards and sails, shields and kites and other everyday objects and has created the outlines for his interpretation of these in custom-built stretchers. Some composition give hints towards the original use and structure of the shapes, the mood and character of a given form leads the painting itself. One could read the works both as painted objects or sculpted paintings, they exist in and communicate strongly with the surrounding space.

The works are reminiscent of abstract expressionism and colour field painting, and the shaped surfaces create a sculptural character. The act of painting is a negotiation between the painterly gesture and the given shape of the painting. Hintz’s works challenge the common ideas of perception and encourage different ways of viewing and experiencing painting.

Mikko Hintz (b.1974 Waiblingen i. R., Germany) is a German-born Finnish artist, who lives and works in Helsinki. He has studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki and Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. Hintz is represented in public collections such as Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, HAM Helsinki Art Museum,The Collection of Finnish State Art Commission and Frieder Burda Collection in Baden Baden. Hintz has exhibited widely in Finland and Europe and recent shows include Temnikova & Kasela gallery, Tallinn (2016); Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki (2013–2014) and Kalnciema Quartier gallery, Riga (2012). The exhibition is supported by The Finnish Cultural Foundation.

Inga Meldere starts her artistic process with research. By diving into stories and art history she finds such an abundance of material that each finished work could be a starting point to a new exhibition. One could say that her paintings are a combination of research both outside and inside the studio. Meldere is also interested in ways of painting and ways of perception, how the mind and reason interact with the senses, the realm of the body.

For this exhbition, Meldere studied the relationship between Henri Matisse and his model and long time muse, Lydia. This functioned as one entry point to the subject of caring. Questions of how we care, what are the power structures lying behind these acts, and what are the tools in acts of caring have been central. Lydia was not just a model, but also a studio assistant and life partner until the end of Matisses’ life. Meldere draws attention to emancipation, gender equality and feminine symbols in our society. Through introducing the visual element of a scarf – a feminine accessory and symbol of social status – she addresses these matters, but also uses the symmetry of the scarf design as a tool for the composition of the painting.

Meldere’s works are combinations of printing and painting. The UV-printing is often a link to the archival material she encounters while researching. The finished work is always a carefully balanced, delicate and refined painting.

Inga Meldere (b. 1979, Kuldiga, Latvia) lives and works in Helsinki. She studied at the University of Latvia and at the Art Academy of Latvia. Meldere was a researcher at Jan Van Eyck Academie in Maastricht 2013-2014. She is currently attending a MA program in Painting at the University of the Arts in Helsinki.
Meldere’s recent solo and duo exhibitions include shows at Latvian National Museum of Art, Riga (2017); SIC, Helsinki (2017); kim? Contemporary Art Centre, Riga (2016); Temnikova & Kasela gallery, Tallinn (2016). She has participated in various group exhibitions at eg. Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland (2018 -2019); Exhibition hall Arsenals, National Museum of Latvia, Riga (2017); Barbara Seiler Gallery, Zürich (2016–2017). Meldere is represented in the collection of Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, The Collection of Finnish State Art Commission, and private collections such as HANGart (Vienna Austria), bta art (Vienna Insurance Group), Janis Zuzans and Maris Vitols collections. TAIKE and The Finnish Cultural Foundation have supported the exhibition.