SAMI HAVIA: Paintings and drawings

The speed of abstract painting meets cartoonlike drawing

Opposites attract painter Sami Havia (b. 1982), whose work combines spontaneous abstraction and geeky, accurate drawing. He draws slowly and carefully on quickly and broadly painted surfaces, thus creating order and tension.

"In my work there is a contradiction between high and low culture, non-figurative and figurative. Initially the painting is abstraction guided by intuition, which I structure by drawing. Drawing satisfies my need to organise. I like to sort things", says Havia.

Drawing is a way to play with the expressive tradition of painting, which has often been charged with invasive machismo. It also gives the artist a permission be silly and tame.

Havia seeks lightness through colours: out of the views he paints with colours the artist draws details and forms familiar from the world of cartoon and comics. These grotesque shapes form a parallel with the lightness of colours. Havia constantly absorbs influences and also supports the idea that someone else will take inspiration from him.

"I've learned to forget control and let go of too precise planning. Painting should be fun, and a kind of comfort should exist in my work. The best part is, if the viewer is inspired in such a way he or she begins to paint. Painting can feed not only the artist's, but also the viewer's creativity."

Sami Havia graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in December 2011 and is one of the most closely followed young artists. He rose to the consciousness of the field during his exhibition at gallery Fafa in 2010. In addition, especially the internet generation remembers his paintings on c-cassettes as a part of a larger installation in exhibition Home/Away (2006). The exhibition seen in Korjaamo Galleria is Havia’s first exhibition as a professional artist.

Sami Havia’s paintings and drawings February 10 to 26, 2012.

CV