Gallery Kajo 28.02. - 08.03.2018
Portraits
Kari Huhtamo is mainly known for his space-based abstractions and computer-assisted
teamwork, but he is also a perceptive and sure-minded figurative artist.
Portraits exhibition presents this lesser known aspect of the sculptor's
extensive and distinctive career.
To date Huhtamo has made 34 portraits.
Some of the portraits have emerged out of inspiration, some by chance and
some are commissions. The first work was a thesis for The Finnish Academy
of Fine Arts and it was modeled after a fellow student Aaro Vatanen. The
first non-colleague work was of Professor Jouko Hautala. The last work,
a portrait of Kari Piippo, was completed in 2006.
In portraits Huhtamo
strives for a realistic and personal expression of the subject. He wants
to capture the personality. Numerous sessions of sketching and chatting
are needed, photographs won’t do. Clay suits this method perfectly as it
allows reworking. Ink is less forgiving. It requires that the object must
be captured in an instant.
To sum up Huhtamo makes portraits of
human beings - also when the subject is himself.