The Rovaniemi Art Museum presents the phenomena of Northern art and highlights local artists. An extensive solo exhibition by Henri Hagman (b. 1974) will open at the Art Museum in December. Hagman is a visual artist and art teacher living in Rovaniemi. The exhibition and its publications are the artistic part of Hagman’s doctoral studies in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Lapland.
“I continue to study expression in color in painting, but now I consider it in the light of prevailing conceptions of art. My intention is to meet both the taste of the wider audience and the conceptuality appropriate to the art world at the same time. However, I still stick to what I consider to be the artistic quality, and, on the other hand, what expresses myself and my perception of life.”
The exhibition features paintings, some of which the artist has been working on for up to ten years. The prolonged work time can eventually lead to a radical change in the essence of the work. Indeed, a painting can become an image, a sculpture, an animation, or a conceptual process. Several hundred works are being completed in the artist’s studios. “Always, year after year, they hesitate as human-like beings. The work is starting to seem like a big parody.”
The artist completes his entire production at the same time. Maybe everything will be ready in 40 years at last, but not a single work before that. Sometimes, however, a theme, a thought, or curious subject emerges that anchors the colors and shapes of the work in a clear position. Then the work loses a lot, but still achieves the whole, the big picture. The work is created, but at the same time it also ceases to exist to some extent.
Henri Hagman will continue to work on some of the artwork during the exhibition. The museum visitor has a great opportunity to see the actual work of the artist.
