Henry Wuorila-Stenberg
10 Feb - 06 Mar 2011
HENRY WUORILA-STENBERG
10 February - 6 March, 2011
Henry Wuorila-Stenberg's awaited works exploring the mind of European man and its various states will be on show at Galerie Anhava from 10 February to 6 March 2011.
Martti Anhava writes of the artist's most recent paintings as follows:
"In his personal quest for truth, Henry Wuorila-Stenberg has studied many world views and creeds. After converting to the Orthodox faith a few years ago, he also began to study icon painting. In doing so, he gave a name, as it were, to many of the aims that have appeared in his work of the past decade.
The icon painting tradition focuses on established motifs and the poses and arrangements of figures are repeated in similar form to express closely defined metaphorical meanings.
In corresponding fashion, Wuorila-Stenberg's human figures and groups often appear to present themselves to be read in similar fashion, and mercy, compassion and forgiveness can also be seen as the ultimate themes of his work. But where the mainstream of the eastern icon tradition appears to seek a harmonious impression through its well-balanced composition and treatment of colour and figures, Wuorila-Stenberg has followed a course that completely his own. His figures of Job and Mary of Egypt are related to Donatello's Mary Magdalene and the crucified Christs of Matthias Grünewald or Nikolai Ge.
The artist's new paintings blend the brute force of vision with the overpowering expressiveness of painting. These works are icons in the same sense as Edvard Munch's studies of angst or Arnold Schönberg's self-portraits."
In recent years, Henry Wuorila-Stenberg has participated in numerous joint exhibitions with the spiritual plight of Western man as their theme. His works have been on show at the Museu Brasileiro da Escultura in São Paulo, Kunstlaboratorium in Vestfossen, Norway and the Ludwig Museum in Koblenz, Germany.
It is no wonder that he has been invited to participate in these exhibitions for there is hardly another artist in the world at present who addresses fundamental issues as deeply, personally, unsparingly and mercifully as he does.
10 February - 6 March, 2011
Henry Wuorila-Stenberg's awaited works exploring the mind of European man and its various states will be on show at Galerie Anhava from 10 February to 6 March 2011.
Martti Anhava writes of the artist's most recent paintings as follows:
"In his personal quest for truth, Henry Wuorila-Stenberg has studied many world views and creeds. After converting to the Orthodox faith a few years ago, he also began to study icon painting. In doing so, he gave a name, as it were, to many of the aims that have appeared in his work of the past decade.
The icon painting tradition focuses on established motifs and the poses and arrangements of figures are repeated in similar form to express closely defined metaphorical meanings.
In corresponding fashion, Wuorila-Stenberg's human figures and groups often appear to present themselves to be read in similar fashion, and mercy, compassion and forgiveness can also be seen as the ultimate themes of his work. But where the mainstream of the eastern icon tradition appears to seek a harmonious impression through its well-balanced composition and treatment of colour and figures, Wuorila-Stenberg has followed a course that completely his own. His figures of Job and Mary of Egypt are related to Donatello's Mary Magdalene and the crucified Christs of Matthias Grünewald or Nikolai Ge.
The artist's new paintings blend the brute force of vision with the overpowering expressiveness of painting. These works are icons in the same sense as Edvard Munch's studies of angst or Arnold Schönberg's self-portraits."
In recent years, Henry Wuorila-Stenberg has participated in numerous joint exhibitions with the spiritual plight of Western man as their theme. His works have been on show at the Museu Brasileiro da Escultura in São Paulo, Kunstlaboratorium in Vestfossen, Norway and the Ludwig Museum in Koblenz, Germany.
It is no wonder that he has been invited to participate in these exhibitions for there is hardly another artist in the world at present who addresses fundamental issues as deeply, personally, unsparingly and mercifully as he does.