Kirsi Tapper, Wood Sculptures
Feb 3 – Apr 22, 2012
Day-to-day Life of a Horse and a Human
The knife is Kirsi Tapper’s tool, and wood her material. As a member of a family with artistic roots she carries on the tradition as a sculptor. Tapper lives and works in Jyväskylä but spends the summers in the Tapper’s family farm in Tarvaala, Saarijärvi. Respect for the countryside and nature is central in her work. She finds ideas from everyday human experiences, with a dash of humour and common sense. During the 21st century Tapper has become known for her horse sculptures which have originated from her longing for a horse of her own. Nowadays Tapper is a happy owner of a horse called Madonna and admits that her enthusiasm for horses shows in her work.
The works presented in Holvi illustrate the day-to-day life of a horse and a human. Kirsi Tapper’s style has changed over the years: she has moved from a detailed depiction towards a more simplified form, and some of her horses are toy-like and clumsy. Tapper was inspired by the wooden toy horses she saw in Parisian flea markets and she wanted to transfer the surface worn by play and time to her own sculpting. Tapper’s horses bring to mind old wooden rocking horses. Examples of realism are the detailed, realistic harness and bicycles, as well as a blanket for a pony, all wood sculptures.
Kirsi Tapper has called her works as images carved out of wood. Her wooden images are generally born of a verbal insight, when the title of the work exists before its actual creation. Sometimes the process runs in the opposite direction, and the work is named only after its completion. Tapper does not tend to sketch beforehand so the end result might be a surprise for the artist as well.
In 1978 Kirsi Tapper (1959–) graduated from what is now called the Kuopio Academy of Design. In 1981 she graduated in graphic design at the Lahti Institute of Design. Tapper has had many group and individual exhibitions, the latest in the Espoo Museum of Modern Art, EMMA (2008), the museum of Saarijärvi (2009), and Galleria Becker, Jyväskylä (2010). She is a member of several artists’ associations, such as the Finnish Painters’ Union. She has also written and illustrated children’s books and taught visual arts in various art schools.
Source:
Kemppainen, Riikka. 2011.
Kirsi Tapperin taiteesta ja taiteeseen vaikuttavista tekijöistä. ”Puolustan puuta siksikin, että sitä voivat ihmiset niin kuin hevosetkin ajankulukseen vaikka purra". Art History Proseminar. University of Jyväskylä: Department of Art and Culture Studies.
The exhibition has been supported by Finnish Cultural Foundation’s Central Finland Regional Fund and Taiteen keskustoimikunta.
Jyväskylä Art Museum, Holvi
Kauppakatu 23
tue – sun , 11 am – 6 pm