Revolution per Minute, Moscow 2009. Photo: Tommi Grönlund

Kuraattori: Anna Bitkina

Taiteilijat: Tommi Grönlund and Petteri Nisunen

syyskuu 25 - lokakuu 25, 2009

Taiteilijat Tommi Grönlund ja Petteri Nisunen osallistuvat Moskovan kolmanteen nykytaiteen biennalleen, 3rd Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, jossa on esillä heidän uusin projektinsa ‘Revolution Per Minute'.

‘Revolution Per Minute’ consists of eight 6 mm fiberglass rods fixed at a height of 40 sm. above the floor. The thin and seemingly fragile structures make up two exact rows in a 400-square meter space. The long rods painted white and therefore matching the white tile walls of the shop, rotate with the speed of 1 revolution per minute by means of an attached engine. This slow motion fills up the space and creates a somewhat meditative effect thus reminding the viewers of monotonous work of the factory machines and estranged and mechanical labor of the people operating them.

Tommi Gronlund and Petteri Nisunen have been working together since 1993. Being professional architects, they successfully blend a subtle sense of space and aspiration for ideal forms. Even though the profession of an architect is primarily functional and deals with precise structures, the artists have always been fascinated by the concepts of chance and chaos. This has inspired Tommi Gronlund and Petteri Nisunen for investigating various ways of how one can perceive visual impulses that form the basis of their light and sound installations and pneumatic objects.

The work title ‘Revolution Per Minute’ refers to pathos and rhetoric of Soviet slogans and word combinations like, for example, Red October, which combines color depth and revolutionary call. The minimalistic project of the two Finnish artists is almost devoid of color and dynamics which fully contrasts with the space it is set into. This creates complementary historical and aesthetical levels of perception of both the installation and the space.

Seeming rationality and certain Northern coldness of the artists’ works are closely related to the notions of cosmicity, importance of forms per se and universal elemental geometry. This makes them followers of Kazimir Malevich who originated Suprematism, an art movement focused on fundamental geometric forms in the 1920s. One can also notice, that the art of Tommi Gronlund and Petteri Nisunen has been significantly affected by the works of the American minimalist sculptor Donald Judd that are famous for their importance of form, structure and the space they are located in.

Artist’s website: http://g-n.fi

The project is supported by FRAME (Finnish Fund for Art Exchange)