The Heirs of Kain Tapper
Kain Tapper (1930–2004), Pekka Kauhanen, Pekka Pitkänen, Riku Riippa, Tommi Toija
Lönnströmin taidemuseo
23.01.2010-23.05.2010

The Heirs of Kain Tapper presents four contemporary sculptors whose work shows an affinity with the art of Finnish academician Kain Tapper (1930–2004). The exhibition traces the influence that the pioneer of Finnish sculpture had on the work of the younger generation of artists. Pekka Kauhanen, Pekka Pitkänen, Riku Riippa and Tommi Toija were Kain Tapper's students, studio assistants and friends. The exhibition also includes reviews of the work of Tapper himself.

Kain Tapper was a key figure of Finnish Modernism. His work is difficult to pin down; his art was ultimately based on his love of nature and his interest in spirituality. Tapper's sculptures focused on form, surface texture and line. Tapper made a long career as a professor of sculpture. One aspect of his work as a teacher was his custom of employing studio assistants. The apprenticeship system was a traditional element of sculpture, particularly before contemporary forms of education were available to sculptors: young artists worked as assistants in the studios of more advanced role models. Apprenticeship also served as a setting for the transference of the tradition; in Kain's studio, the students discussed life, art and the works in progress, made coffee and played cards. Working under the master also laid foundations for disciplined and systematic working habits, and awarded them a strong conviction in the power of their artistic vision.

The artists in the exhibition – the heirs of Kain Tapper – will each create a set of works for the show. The works of Pekka Kauhanen are close to tragicomedy, a part of a strange world of their own where small is big and light alternates with darkness. Pekka Pitkänen presents a cross-section of his work and the influences he acquired from Tapper: his pieces are a series of portraits of Kain Tapper completed after the master's death. The works of Riku Riippa borrow elements from the tradition of classical sculpture: silent human figures fill both the space and the viewer's mind. The signature figure of Tommi Toija's ceramic sculptures is a small boy, sometimes dangling from the string of a balloon, at others scared of a threatening black cloud.

The exhibition is generously supported by Länsi-Suomen Osuuspankki and Best Western Hotel Raumanlinna. Works have been loaned to the exhibition by the Ateneum Art Museum and the Turku Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tuusula, as well as private collections.