Mikko Maasalo (born 1963) is the most Icelandic of all Finnish artists. He never produces works that are stupid or uncalled for.
Maasalo’s art is a dialogue between the human senses and the perceivable manifestations of the phenomena of the world, or nodes where the two come together in surprising ways. It can be a question of an emotional choice taking a certain – most probably severe – visual form which is then met by the viewer’s gaze. It can be the transformation of one type of energy into another, and its reaction to external stimuli, such as the movement of the viewer.
In some ways, Mikko Maasalo’s art, however, always defines what is to be seen, heard, perceived, on what terms and what influences these terms – by no means least the recipient, the perceiver, of the artwork. This science of reciprocity translates into viewable form - into interesting pieces that can be viewed from various perspectives: in the light of traditional aesthetics (they are usually beautiful), as evidence of what we can, know and understand, for example, of seeing, as an investigation of the relations of time, being and happening, and so on…
Mikko Maasalo’s art is cold and burning: it fuels the intellect, sharpens our sense and understanding, and emotions.
In "Concrete painting" Maasalo presents his works from the past few years: a kind of selection or compilation of his ideas that have taken the shape of works or series of works in recent years.
Ilona Anhava
