Luote III, 2014
watercolour on glued Japanese paper
27,5 x 41 cm
The specific nature of Raimo Reinikainen’s (born 1939) art is difficult to describe in a way that would do it justice. As is known, he draws, paints and makes prints. His works often take nature as their starting point, either domestic or foreign, but they are rarely landscapes painted after a model. Reinikainen is a kind of nature mystic who sees more and a deeper content in trees, water, mountains and sky than the rest of us.
His works often come about through a long and complex process. There is often a long journey from the first perceptions and marks of the pencil to the completed, precise and sensitive artwork that condenses the impression.
Watercolour is regarded as an art of quick technique, and that is often the case, but Reinikainen’s watercolours are also carefully constructed and the result of a long process of consideration and composition.
Over a decade has passed since Reinikainen’s last exhibition at Galerie Anhava. In the meantime, he has held an extensive retrospective at the Hyvinkää and Jyväskylä Art Museums and has participated in several museum exhibitions, including the opening exhibition of the Serlachius Gösta Museum. Reinikainen’s works are included in almost all of Finland’s leading public art collections and countless private collections, including the collections of Carl-Johan af Forselles, Tuomo Seppo and Vexi Salmi
Raimo Reinikainen is one of the finest and most original artists in Finnish visual art: a master of few marks.
Ilona Anhava
