Love Dialogue

Harsh Collective is pleased to announce the solo exhibition “Love Dialogue” with Finnish artist Johanna Kestilä. The exhibition features accompanying texts for the works written by the artist’s daughter, Lotta Hukkanen.

“Love Dialogue” - Experiences of You

The works of the exhibition depict moments in which something special occurs and life, once again, shifts its course ever so slightly. Events in life occasionally rise to great heights, only to return to the rhythm of normalcy, much like the cadence of breathing. Every experience leaves some kind of trace. I seek and explore the imprints that different events leave on people, and transform them into paintings.

The transformation does not unfold within a closed, silent space; instead, experiences become visual blueprints in everyday practical moments - nursing a child, lying in the arms of a loved one - in situations where nothing else needs to transpire. Moments of stillness amidst the routines of everyday life provide the room to process emotions and events. After periods of motion, time is needed for things to settle into a certain order, so they can be better comprehended. The creation of these artworks is a process that perpetually unfolds, active even without intention. It is a process that perpetually unfolds. The inherent variability finds concrete expression in the pieces of art; the ambiance of intense moments intertwines with the stillness through stitches, transitioning into an observant state.

The artworks are not part of the same series, nor are they colorful or formal replicas of each other; instead, they are unique depictions of occurrences within human relationships. The paintings are visual portrayals that breathe and come alive in the present moment. The paintings depict the dialogue between people in various loving relationships, visually, narratively, and rhythmically. Many things happen in everyone’s life, but how one sees them is individualistic. Accompanying each artwork is also text - in the form of a letter or a poem - that elaborates on the context of the piece for its observer or stands entirely separate as an interpretation of interpretations.

-Johanna Kestilä