Päivi Takala

Birdlife, Sky, 2021
oil on canvas and concrete
180 x 152 cm

In private collection

For PÄIVI TAKALA, paintings exist not only as art objects but also as exploitable raw material for creating new works and a new context. Takala has continuously explored the disintegration and modification of paintings, bringing the painting process to the fore. She has painted illusions of disintegrating images on canvas and then perforated the paintings with three-dimensional objects. Repairing is a way to study the material nature of the painting and it opens up opportunities to consider in broader perspective the meanings of fixing and patching things. The rough treatment of a work that was originally produced with great skill and devotion raises the question of the inviolability of the painting: why does it leave such a violent impression on us?  

Päivi Takala’s (b. 1970) works have been exhibited in numerous solo and group shows, including at Galerie Anhava in Helsinki, Galleri Lars Olsen in Copenhagen, EMMA Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Museum Riga Bourse, Rovaniemi Art Museum Korundi, Aboa Vetus Ars Nova in Turku, and Galleri Thomas Wallner in Simris. Her works are included in many important Nordic public collections, such as the HAM Helsinki Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, the Saastamoinen Foundation, the Sara Hildén Art Museum, and the Malmö Art Museum. Takala has worked as Lecturer in Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki since 2014.
 

Birdlife
2 – 26 Sep 2021

Remains, 2021
oil on canvas and concrete
40 x 32 cm

In Saastamoinen Foundation Collection

Birdlife, Stairs, 2021
oil on canvas and concrete
29,5 x 90 x 70 cm

In Saastamoinen Foundation Collection

Sleeve II, 2018
oil on MDF
150 x 120 cm

Renovation (sky), 2018
oil colour and filler on MDF, paint on metal
part I: 150 x 120 cm,
part II: 36,8 x 104,5 x 67,2 cm

In Heino Foundation Collection

Vanitas Series (Portrait), 2011
oil on canvas
75 x 65 cm

In Heino Foundation Collection

Renovation (back), 2018
oil colour and plaster on MDF
128 x 98,9 cm

Paper on Painting
5 Feb – 1 Mar 2015
exhibition view

Vanitas Series (Tatlin on white), 2011
oil on canvas
250 x 200 cm

In Vexi Salmi Collection

Interior on Canvas, 2016
oil on canvas, water-mixable oil on plywood
160 x 132 x 10 cm

In Heino Foundation Collection

Vanitas Series (Illusion), 2012
oil on canvas
150 x 120 cm

In Sara Hildén Art Museum collection

Vanitas Series (Cross 1), 2012
oil on canvas
35 x 35 cm

In Heino Foundation Collection

Selection of available works. For the full list, please contact galerie(at)anhava.com

Birdlife, Construction, 2021
oil on canvas and concrete
180 x 160 cm

Crossbreed, Aspen and Bloodleaf, 2021
oil on canvas and concrete
149 x 112,5 cm

Imagecut, Siberian Jay V, 2021
oil on canvas and concrete
40 x 32 cm

Archive, 2021
oil on canvas and concrete
122,5 x 100 cm

Renovation (chequered), 2018
oil colour and plaster on MDF
76,5 x 62 cm

Renovation (patch), 2018
oil colour and filler on MDF
150 x 120 cm

Grid on Canvas, 2014
oil on canvas
120 x 100 cm

Vanitas Series (Cross 2), 2012
oil on canvas
35 x 35 cm

Renovation (stripes), 2018
oil colour and filler on MDF
69 x 63,5 cm

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BioCVExhibitions

Exhibitions

Bio

During her career PÄIVI TAKALA (b. 1970) has explored the disintegration and modification of paintings over a long period. She has painted illusions of disintegrating images on canvas and then perforated the paintings with three-dimensional objects. In her latest pieces she has focuses on the gesture of repair. Repairing is a way to study the material nature of the painting and it opens up opportunities to consider in broader perspective the meanings of fixing and patching things. Life can be considered an ongoing struggle with wear, destruction and faults, and the repairs that are to them.

The marks of breaking and repair bring the artist and the activity dimension of the painting close to the viewer. Sawing is a gesture that is comparable to the movements of a brush. This process underscores the physical nature of painting and the artist’s physical presence before her works. It also gives visibility to the simultaneousness of the painted motif and the artefactual nature of the painting.

CV

download as pdf

PÄIVI TAKALA

Born 1970 in Lehtimäki, Finland
Lives and works in Helsinki

EDUCATION
1994–1998 Hochschule der Künste, Berlin
Freie Kunst, Malerei
Meisterschülerin
1990–1996 University of Art and Design Helsinki
Department of Art Education
Masters of Arts
1989–1990 University of Helsinki, Department of Art History

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

  • 2018
    • Renovation, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
  • 2015
    • Paper on Painting, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
  • 2013
    • Torso, Turku Art Museum, Studio, Turku
    • Smoke on paper, Galleri Lars Olsen, Copenhagen
  • 2012
    • Vanitas Series, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
  • 2011
    • Memento (with David Kroell), Gallery Bourouina, Berlin
  • 2010
    • Lume, Taidesalonki Husa, Tampere
  • 2009
    • Background, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
    • Window Seat, Gallery Bourouina, Berlin
  • 2008
    • Outside, Gallery Thomas Wallner, Malmö
  • 2006
    • Grip, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
  • 2005
    • Gallery Bakeliittibambi, Helsinki
  • 2002
    • tm-galleria, Helsinki
  • 2001
    • Gallery Bakeliittibambi, Helsinki
  • 2000
    • Nelimarkka Museum, Alajärvi
  • 1999
    • Gallery Bakeliittibambi, Helsinki
  • 1998
    • Gallery of the Helsinki Fine Arts Academy, Helsinki

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

  • 2017
    • With Seven-league Boots. Stop – Finland: Works from the Kiasma Collection, Art Museum Riga Bourse, Riga
    • 8thTurku Biennial, Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova, Turku
    • Constellations, Exhibition Laboratory, Helsinki
  • 2015
    • Touch, Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection Exhibition, EMMA Espoo Museum of Modern Art
  • 2014
    • Polyfonia II, Galleri Thomas Wallner, Simris
  • 2013
    • Events in Nature, Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection, EMMA Espoo                     Museum of Modern Art
    • Polyfonia, Galleri Thomas Wallner, Simris
    • Seitsemäs aalto, Wihuri Foundation Art Collection, Lönnström Art Museum, Rauma
  • 2012
    • Seitsemäs aalto, Wihuri Foundation Art Collection, Kunsthalle Helsinki
  • 2011
    • Silent wishes, Gallery Oksasenkatu, Helsinki
    • 2010 New Impressions, Gallery Bourouina, Berlin
  • 2008
    • The Real Thing, Malmö Konstmuseum, Malmö
    • Third Beijing Biennale, Peking
    • What´s up, Gallery Bourouina, Berlin
    • Simple Mind, Fiskars
  • 2007
    • Gallery Forum Box, Helsinki
    • group: Näsänen, Euro, Takala
    • Unbelievable, But True. New works from collections, Helsinki City Art Museum, Helsinki
  • 2006
    • Artist and Spectator, Sara Hildén Art Museum, Tampere
    • Purnu Summer, Orivesi
    • Järvenpää City Art Museum, Järvenpää
  • 1999
    • “by side, sidewalk”, Vaasa

 

ARTWORKS IN COLLECTIONS
Helsinki Art Museum
Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art
Malmö Konstmuseum
Sara Hildén Art Museum, Tampere
Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection, Espoo
EMMA Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo
Lars Swaljung Collection, Helsinki
Vexi Salmi Collection, Hämeenlinna Art Museum
The Finnish State Art Collection
Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation Collection, Rovaniemi Art Museum
Nelimarkka Museum, Alajärvi
Paulo Foundation, Helsinki
Pohjola, Helsinki
Private collections in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland

AWARDS
2009               William Thuring Award, Fine Arts Association of Finland

PUBLICATIONS
The 7th Wave –Wihuri and Visual Art, 2012
Oskari Tolonen: Maalauksia kuvista ja kuvattomuudesta, Mustekala 2012
Void: Päivi Takala, Parvs Publishing, 2011
Veli-Matti Saarinen, Background, Mustekala 11/2009
Simple Life, Fiskars, 2008
Tarja Pitkänen-Walter, Päivänselviä Ilmestyksiä, Taide 1/2007
Pilvi Kalhama, On the Borderlines of the Void, “Grip”, Galerie Anhava 2006