Updates
On behalf of the Henna and Pertti Niemistö Art Foundation and on behalf of Foundation’s Award panel I, Leena Niemistö, have the honour to announce
ARS FENNICA Candidates for 2019
FINLAND
When Petri Ala-Maunus (b.1970) was younger and thought about what he would do as an artist, he decided to proceed via negation. Because landscape painting interested him the least, he decided to start painting landscapes, but in his own way. During the 1990s, he became known for his skilful, often saccharine sunsets, which were created not only on canvases of different sizes, but also on almost any type of material, ranging from pizza boxes to maple leaves.
SWEDEN
ICELAND
FINLAND
Aurora Reinhard has been called a “life explorer”. In her art she has long been examining the power and emotional relationships between women and men. Conversely, she has dealt – often very directly – with various issues involved in the pictorial representation of sexuality and gender identity. In so doing she has also put herself on the line, seeking answers both in front of the camera and behind it.
ICELAND
The joint exhibition for candidates’ works will be held at Amos Rex on June 19, 2019 – September 8, 2019. The audience can also vote for their own favorite artist.
ARS FENNICA 2017
Kari Vehosalo stages a performative spectacle fusing life and death in an excruciating dance. With extreme photographic and philosophical precision, he weaves together beauty, psychopathology and the history of western trauma culture.
From the archive
Ensimmäiset ARS Fennica ehdokkaat 1991
ARS FENNICA -foundation
The Henna and Pertti Niemistö Art Foundation – ARS FENNICA sr was established in 1990 to promote the arts by opening up new channels for Finnish visual art internationally, by providing artists with inspiration in their creative work, and by encouraging interest in and respect for the visual arts among the general public.
In alternate years, the Foundation awards Finland’s most significant visual-art prize – 40,000 euros. The prize goes to an artist in recognition of individual artistic work of outstanding quality.