BY THE RIVER 4 – CONTACTS/CONTRASTS

PRESS RELEASE

Daniel Buren, France
Lauri Laine, Finland
Maurizio Nannucci, Italia
Richard Nonas, USA
Mari Rantanen, Finland
Johan Scott, Finland
Timo Valjakka, Finland
Claude Viallat, France

The By the River exhibitions at the Pori Art Museum appear to be becoming an annual tradition. These exhibitions began in 1983, when the core of the museum’s permanent collection, The Collection of Maire Gullichsen Art Foundation, was on display at the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen. Coinciding with an international critics’ seminar visiting Pori at that time, the museum sought to present an exhibition of contemporary Finnish art that could well have represented the museum’s collection and its current additions.

The following year, the young Finnish photography exhibition also explored the new and contemporary, receiving the name By the River 2. In 1985, an international fine art photography exhibition consciously continued the idea of a recurring event. The timing of the By the River exhibitions in late spring and early summer supports their concept: as the ice melts, the current flows strongest, making it easier to pose new questions. Perhaps spring even allows for a touch of playfulness.

By the River 4 explores the theme of kinship. The Contacts/Contrasts exhibition does not adhere to a unifying stylistic theme. Instead, its core idea lies in how artists from different parts of the world, working in diverse ways and using various materials, can create a cohesive whole, united primarily at the level of thought. Each artist asks similar questions but answers them in their own unique way.

The exhibition aims for a rich dialogue that highlights both similarities and differences. It moves from painting to installation, sculpture, and photography. It includes decorativeness and structuralism, vibrant color and austerity. It juxtaposes seriality and unpredictability and encompasses both pure visuality and conceptuality. It delves into the fundamental questions of art-making. At the same time, By the River 4 opens a dialogue between today’s international art and new Finnish art.

A seminar accompanying the exhibition, ART AND THE CITY, has been organized in collaboration between the Association of Finnish Cities and the Pori Art Museum, as part of the association’s broader visual arts seminar held in Pori from May 28 to 30, 1986.

Due to the evolving nature of the Contacts/Contrasts exhibition, its publication will be produced during the exhibition.

Publication:
ISBN 951-9355-15-4 Varrella Virran 4 By the River
Pori Art Museum 29.5.-13.7.1986
Editing of catalogue: Hilkka Kuusijärvi, Marketta Seppälä, Timo Valjakka
Translations: Harald Arnkil, Ritva Päivömaa
Lay-out: Hilkka Kuusijärvi
Photographs: Terhi Högbacka, Esko Nummelin, Tiina Nyrhinen, Jalo Porkkala
Satakunnan Kirjateollisuus Oy, Pori 1986
Pori Art Museum Publications 10

Translated with ChatGPT