On the occasion of the Finnish presidency of the European Union, which started this year, at the end of the year the S.M.A.K. is organising an exhibition of work by three Finnish artists.
They work experimentally at the point where video art, film, documentary and visual art meet. We chose the artist Mika Taanila and the duo Tellervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen for the convincing quality and innovative nature of their work. Although their approaches differ considerably, parallels nevertheless arise that make it interesting to show their work alongside each other. Both will be showing new work for the first time. Mika Taanila (b. 1965, Helsinki) is an artist who blurs the boundaries between documentary film, avant-garde film and plastic art. Themes that permeate his film work include the artificial urban environment and the futuristic Utopias of modern science. His short films have been screened at more than 200 international film festivals and events. His work has recently found its way to a new audience in the visual art world. The work of Tellervo Kalleinen (b. 1975, Lohja; lives and works in Helsinki) comprises video art, performance art and artistic interventions, in which she usually creates unusual situations that make possible and elicit creative interaction. Since 2003 she has worked closely with the artist Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen (b. 1971, Dresden; lives and works in Helsinki).
