A tree felled by a storm in the Giardini grounds of the Venice Biennale has caused severe damage to artist Vesa-Pekka Rannikko's exhibition and the Alvar Aalto Pavilion on 7 October.

Rannikko's exhibition And All Structures Are Unstable had to be closed immediately to the public, before the official closing date of the Biennale on 27 November. The part of the Finnish  exhibition at Venice produced by FRAME will thus end exceptionally, and the dismounting of the exhibition will presumably begin in advance. The pavilion designed by Alvar Aalto has been in use since 1956.

Click the image to enlarge.

The Finnish Alvar Aalto Pavilion presents an installation by artist Vesa-Pekka Rannikko (born 1968 in Turku, Finland) at the Venice Biennale 2011. Rannikko is internationally recognised for his site-specific works, which obscure the usual boundaries between the viewer, the work of art and the space. The Venice Biennale runs from June 4 to November 27.

An important starting point for Vesa-Pekka Rannikko’s exhibition project for the Venice Biennale 2011 is the Finnish Pavilion in the Giardini Park venue, and the role and character of the pavilion as a stage for projected Finnish identity. The pavilion, designed by Alvar Aalto (1898–1976) in 1956, was originally meant to be a temporary structure. However, Aalto’s building attracted attention and praise and consequently it has remained in place for over 50 years.

“When the pavilion was built in the 1950’s, it was of national significance to Finland. My work studies the current role of the building and the art exhibited there as an international, national and personal representation. For the Venice Biennale I created a narrative installation that uses the pavilion as part of the work and comments on its structure and historical status”, says artist Vesa-Pekka Rannikko.

The exhibition explores the architecture of the Finnish Pavilion, partly expanding outside the building. The entrance into the pavilion will be concealed by a new facade, leaving the original building behind a new set of construction elements. The space inside the pavilion forms a starting point and a set-up for the video work filmed in the building. Presented in the space as projections, it creates an illusion of perspective. At the basis for the video projections is an idea of a fictional painting exhibition in the pavilion. The pavilion in itself can be perceived as a fictional structure – a stage defined by its changing contents.

The exhibition is curated by Laura Köönikkä, Artistic Director of FRAME Finnish Fund for Art Exchange. “My choice of artist was influenced by the versatility and re-inventiveness of the artist, as well as his ability to take charge of architectonic space”, says Laura Köönikkä.

The exhibition is produced by FRAME Finnish Fund for Art Exchange.

A preview of artist Vesa-Pekka Rannikko’s installation for the Finnish Pavilion at the 2011 Venice Biennale is presented in Helsinki in Finland from March 10–27. Rannikko’s exhibition at gallery Forum Box gives the public a chance to see the first part of the project prior to the opening of the Biennale. The exhibition is produced by FRAME Finnish Fund for Art Exchange and curated by Laura Köönikkä, Artistic Director of FRAME.

A starting point for Vesa-Pekka Rannikko’s exhibition project is the wooden Finnish Pavilion in Venice designed by Alvar Aalto in 1956, and its role and character as a stage for Finnishness.

The exhibition at gallery Forum Box views the artist’s relationship to national representation in a different setting. At the basis for Rannikko’s exhibition is an idea of a fictional painting exhibition in the space.

‘The imaginary exhibition and the works exhibited highlight the question of ownership, authorship and presentation, as well as their relationship to the current exhibition venue. Forum Box is a former warehouse and acts as a prologue to the Venice Biennale. The exhibition can be interpreted as a laboratory or as a warehouse of ideas,’ says artist Vesa-Pekka Rannikko.

‘Eurovision Contest of Visual Art’?

In conjunction to the exhibition, FRAME has invited international and Finnish visual art experts and artists to Forum Box on March 16 and 23. The aim of the talks is to initiate a discussion about the meaning and value of national representation at large international exhibitions such as the Biennale.

‘Finnish visual art is consolidating its position in the international arena, but do national identity and background still have a meaning, as artists move about and live without boundaries outside their home country? Artists balance between global and local parties, which requires sensibility of both spectator and creator, regardless of their country of origin,’ says exhibition curator Laura Köönikkä, Artistic Director of the Finnish Fund for Art Exchange FRAME.

Vesa-Pekka Rannikko: Storage/Varasto – A Prologue to Venice Biennale 2011, March 10–27, 2011

Exhibition opening: March 10, from 5–7 pm.
Public talks will be held March 16 and 23, from 5.30 pm. Welcome!

Forum Box, Ruoholahdenranta 3a, 00180 Helsinki

More info
www.forumbox.fi
www.vesapekkarannikko.net

Press images available in high resolution here.

Artist Vesa-Pekka Rannikko will represent Finland at the 2011 Venice Biennale. The artist was selected by Laura Köönikkä, curator of the exhibition and Artistic Director of FRAME Finnish Fund for Art Exchange. The 54th Venice Biennale takes place from June 4 to November 27, 2011.

“My choice was influenced by the versatility and re-inventiveness of the artist as well as his ability to take charge of architectonic space. Rannikko’s international fame will also enhance Finland’s visibility at the multinational Biennale”, says exhibition curator Laura Köönikkä.

Amongst Vesa-Pekka Rannikko’s most recognisable works are sculptures that reproduce objects in three dimensions, mimicking paintings. Rannikko has also created several location-specific works where the usual boundaries between  viewer, work of art and space are blurred. His works challenge the limits of viewing and experience: an image becomes a material object while the space of the work becomes an image. Viewers feel impelled to question the veracity of many of the works, due to the juxtaposition of their theme and the way they are realised.

For Rannikko, one starting point for the exhibition at the Venice Biennale is the Aalto Pavilion in Venice. Ceated by Alvar Aalto, it was originally meant to be a temporary structure. Now Rannikko is keen to explore its role and character as a stage for what is Finnish.

"When the Aalto Pavilion was built in the 1950s, it was of national significance to Finland. It is interesting to study the current role of the building and the art exhibited there as an international, national or personal representation. My plan is to create a narrative installation which makes the building a part of the work of art through commenting on the structure and historical status of the Pavilion itself", says Vesa-Pekka Rannikko.

Sweden will be in charge of the Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale next year. In 2013 the Nordic Pavilion exhibition will be organised by Finland.

Images: Vesa-Pekka Rannikko and Laura Köönikkä. Photos by Julia Weckman.

Images are available to download in high resolution here. Please contact mona.berg(at)frame-fund.fi to request a password.

For more information, please contact:
Laura Köönikkä, Artistic Director
Tel +358(0) 50 602 68

For press material and images, please contact:
Mona Berg, Communications Officer
Tel +358(0) 40 503 3380

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Venetsian biennaalin Pohjoismaisessa paviljongissa siirrytään vuodesta 2011 lähtien kuusivuotiseen kokeiluun: Suomi, Ruotsi ja Norja järjestävät paviljongissa vuorollaan oman näyttelynsä. Ruotsi on näyttelynjärjestäjänä vuonna 2011, Suomi 2013 ja Norja 2015.

Kulloinkin ne kaksi maata, jotka eivät ole esillä Pohjoismaisessa paviljongissa, järjestävät omat näyttelynsä muualla Venetsiassa. Yhteispohjoismaisista näyttelyistä on vuodesta 2000 vastannut Pohjoismainen toimikunta, johon on kuulunut Suomesta Näyttelyvaihtokeskus Frame, Ruotsista Moderna Museet ja Norjasta Office for Contemporary Art Norway.

Nyt käynnistyvän kiertojärjestelmän tavoitteena on saada pohjoismaiselle taiteelle enemmän näkyvyyttä ja taiteen uusille muodoille perinteisiä ryhmänäyttelyitä parempia esittelymahdollisuuksia. Mallin toimivuus arvioidaan kuuden vuoden kokeilujakson lopussa.

Mallia esitti ensimmäisen kerran isännyysvuorossa ollut Moderna Museet vuonna 2004. Tuolloin kuitenkin päädyttiin vielä yhteisjärjestelyihin. Vuonna 2007 Suomen isännöimä Pohjoismaisen paviljongin näyttely ulottui Alvar Aallon suunnittelemaan Aalto Paviljonkiin, joka oli tuolloin saatu takaisin Suomen käyttöön 45 vuoden jälkeen: René Blockin kokoamassa kuuden taiteilijan näyttelyssä Welfare – Farewell Maaria Wirkkalan tilateos Vietato Lo Sbarco Aalto Paviljongissa toimi ’satelliittina’ laajemmalle pohjoismaiselle näyttelylle.

Viime vuonna yhteispohjoismainen näyttely laajeni neljän maan yhteishankkeeksi Pohjoismaiseen paviljonkiin ja Tanskan paviljonkiin, joihin norjalais-tanskalainen taiteilijapari Michael Elmgren ja Ingar Dragset kokosivat kahden imaginäärisen taidekeräilijän kodit rinnastavan Keräilijät -näyttelyn. Suomesta oli kutsuttu mukaan Laura Horelli ja Jani Leinonen. Samalla Suomella oli Aalto Paviljongissa virallisesti oma paviljonkinsa ensimmäistä kertaa sitten vuoden 1962, jolloin Suomi oli siirtynyt kuvataidebiennaaleissa Pohjoismaisen paviljongin yhteyteen. Näyttelynä oli Framen ja Nykytaiteen museo Kiasman järjestämä Jussi Kiven Palo- ja pelastusmuseo.

Giardinin puiston paraatipaikalle alun perin vuonna 1956 tilapäiseksi suunnitellun pienen Aalto Paviljongin merkitys korostuu nyt entisestään. Se tarjoaa esittäytymismahdollisuuden biennaalin pääalueella niinäkin vuosina, joina suomalaisia taiteilijoita ei ole esillä Pohjoismaisessa paviljongissa. Kun Suomi taas vastaa Pohjoismaisesta paviljongista, molempien paviljonkien näyttelyt voivat yhdessä tarjota tilat laajemmille, kaksiosaisille näyttelyille.