Veikko Törmänen
Encyclopedia
Veikko Johannes Törmänen (born 7 June 1945, Kuusamo
) is a Finnish
artist, who paints
and makes graphic art. His works were displayed for the first time in a solo exhibition in Oulu
Finland in 1972.
Törmänen paints abstract
works and makes installations
. He has collaborated with architects and has made many public works since 1979. His works combine various techniques and materials.
In the 1970s Törmänen painted gouache
and water colour
works based on a close study of objects. In the end of the 1980s he painted large, structuredcolor field
s with events taking place along the sides of the works. At this time he also produced collage
s of various objects and experimented with different materials. In the beginning of 1990's he was struck by the shape of dot, stating that at that time he blew up the color fields into the black dots in his works. He was fascinated by the fact that dot is the basic element of industrially produced image. His show in Oulu Art Museum in 1999 was titled "Contrast".
According to art critic
s Törmänen's art relies on a peculiar diversion of visual sense, dealing with purely aesthetic optical illusion
. He has been considered as a reducer, whose works comprise of colour, form and their interplay. Törmänen states that his aesthetics is the visual experience they produce and that he doesn't tell stories. He says that he has always wanted to embody movement and interaction, a kind of mirroring of different elements with each others.
Among his paintings and installations Törmänen has designed unconventional chairs and other objects. An example of this work is the interior design of the guest room in the State Provincial Office of Oulu with paintings, fireplace, an iron chair and a glass table. He has stated he is not afraid of decoration anymore.
Törmänen lives and works in Oulu. He is married to author Sinikka Laine
.
Kuusamo
Kuusamo is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in the Oulu province and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....
) is a Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
artist, who paints
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and makes graphic art. His works were displayed for the first time in a solo exhibition in Oulu
Oulu
Oulu is a city and municipality of inhabitants in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. It is the most populous city in Northern Finland and the sixth most populous city in the country. It is one of the northernmost larger cities in the world....
Finland in 1972.
Törmänen paints abstract
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
works and makes installations
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
. He has collaborated with architects and has made many public works since 1979. His works combine various techniques and materials.
In the 1970s Törmänen painted gouache
Gouache
Gouache[p], also spelled guache, the name of which derives from the Italian guazzo, water paint, splash or bodycolor is a type of paint consisting of pigment suspended in water. A binding agent, usually gum arabic, is also present, just as in watercolor...
and water colour
Watercolor painting
Watercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...
works based on a close study of objects. In the end of the 1980s he painted large, structuredcolor field
Color Field
Color Field painting is a style of abstract painting that emerged in New York City during the 1940s and 1950s. It was inspired by European modernism and closely related to Abstract Expressionism, while many of its notable early proponents were among the pioneering Abstract Expressionists...
s with events taking place along the sides of the works. At this time he also produced collage
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
s of various objects and experimented with different materials. In the beginning of 1990's he was struck by the shape of dot, stating that at that time he blew up the color fields into the black dots in his works. He was fascinated by the fact that dot is the basic element of industrially produced image. His show in Oulu Art Museum in 1999 was titled "Contrast".
According to art critic
Art critic
An art critic is a person who specializes in evaluating art. Their written critiques, or reviews, are published in newspapers, magazines, books and on web sites...
s Törmänen's art relies on a peculiar diversion of visual sense, dealing with purely aesthetic optical illusion
Optical illusion
An optical illusion is characterized by visually perceived images that differ from objective reality. The information gathered by the eye is processed in the brain to give a perception that does not tally with a physical measurement of the stimulus source...
. He has been considered as a reducer, whose works comprise of colour, form and their interplay. Törmänen states that his aesthetics is the visual experience they produce and that he doesn't tell stories. He says that he has always wanted to embody movement and interaction, a kind of mirroring of different elements with each others.
Among his paintings and installations Törmänen has designed unconventional chairs and other objects. An example of this work is the interior design of the guest room in the State Provincial Office of Oulu with paintings, fireplace, an iron chair and a glass table. He has stated he is not afraid of decoration anymore.
Törmänen lives and works in Oulu. He is married to author Sinikka Laine
Sinikka Laine
Sinikka Laine-Törmänen is a Finnish author primarily of Young-adult fiction. Her first novel Ohari was published in 1982....
.
Public works
- Moving Out, The Travel, The Time, August, a series of serigraphy, Lassintalo, Oulu, 1978
- Celebration Day, oil, Rajakylä primary school, Oulu, 1980
- Pause, oil, Myllyoja primary school, Oulu, 1980
- Forte Fortissimo, oil/acrylics, Music Hall, Oulu, 1985
- East West Home is Best, serigraphy, Knuutilankangas primary school, Oulu, 1989
- Northeast, acrylics, Kuusamo library, 1990
- Border Remarks, a series of collage, The Center for Youth and Culture, Oulu. 1993
- Calender, collage, The State Provincial Office of Oulu, 1995
- Arche of Life, mural, Oulu CathedralOulu CathedralThe Oulu Cathedral is an Evangelical Lutheran cathedral and the seat of the Diocese of Oulu, located in the centre of Oulu, Finland. The church was built in 1777 as a tribute to the King of Sweden Gustav III of Sweden and named after his wife as Sofia Magdalena's church.The wooden structures...
, 1997 - Grid, painting on concrete, Laanila school, 2002
- Blossoming, steel/acrylics, Jouni La Réserve, NiceNiceNice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, 2006 - Upwards, acrylics, Modern Art Museum Ars NovaAboa Vetus & Ars NovaAboa Vetus and Ars Nova is a museum in central Turku, Finland. The museum is housed in a building known as the Rettig palace, originally built in 1928. Aboa Vetus displays portions of the city dating back to medieval times, while Ars Nova is a museum of contemporary art.The museum was first opened...
, TurkuTurkuTurku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
, 2007 - Reflection, ODL Health Centre, Oulu, 2008
Literature
- Ilpo Okkonen, Ullamaria Pallasmaa: Reunahuomautuksia. Veikko Törmänen teoksia 1975-2007, Studio Ilpo Okkonen Oy, 2008 ISBN 978-952-5109-22-1
- Reijo Rinnekangas: Pohjoista valoa, Pohjoinen, 1990 ISBN 951-749-119-0