GALLERY KATARIINA | Roy Aurinko: The waste area dissolves under the unlocked boom into the burial ground 6–29 January 2023

Gallery Katariina presents the exhibition "The waste area dissolves under the unlocked boom into the burial ground" by Roy Aurinko January 6–29, 2023.
Welcome to the exhibition opening on Thursday, January 5th 5–7 pm!

Image: Tiina Rekola

Roy Aurinko – The waste area dissolves under the unlocked boom into the burial ground, 2022
(oil, chalk and cement on canvas, 185 x 136 cm)

Roy Aurinko: The waste area dissolves under the unlocked boom into the burial ground 

Paintings of environmental destruction's aesthetics 

Roy Aurinko deals the effects of mining through his childhood memories in an exhibition at the Gallery Katariina. His abstract paintings aestheticize the landscape shaped by mining. “The subject is contradictory to me: a combination of nostalgia and irresponsibility. It is also an aesthetically fascinating starting point for the works,” describes Aurinko. 

The artist has grown up next to an open-pit mine in Ostrobothnia, Northern Finland. Aurinko says that the topic has been on his mind for years, starting with the news of current mining devastations in Finland. “I haven’t caught on to it because I thought painting was too slow apparat to deal with such a topical issue. However, 10 years later, the question of the consequences of the business operations of the mining companies operating in Finland and the environmental impact of future mining projects is the most topical. ” 

Roy Aurinko’s large-scale, abstract paintings incorporate elements of drawing, and are created using a mixed-media technique combining oil, acrylic, pastel and cement. Roy Aurinko has exhibited artworks in numerous group and solo exhibits across Europe and the United States. His works are currently held within significant private and public collections, including the Finnish National Gallery and Lahti Museum of Visual Arts Malva. 

The exhibition has been supported by the Alfred Kordelin Foundation.

NB! Welcome to meet the artist at the gallery on Sunday, 29 January 1–4 pm.

GALLERY KATARIINA 

Rikhardinkatu 1, 00130 Helsinki 

+358 50 550 3811 

Tue–Fri 11am–5pm, Sat–Sun 12–4pm