Sirpa is a resident of Turku, Finland which is on the southern coast of the country west of the capital Helsinki. She is well known in her region having numerous gallery exhibitions. Her work is in several significant private and museum collections. She also was part of Dark Days, Bright Nights at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, MO in 2015. That exhibit was a survey of contemporary Finnish painting curated by the museum’s then Director Barbara O’Brien who has graciously agreed to write an essay for Sirpa’s exhibition at Joseph Nease Gallery.
Sirpa is a keen observer of culture in her native Finland, and is also a keen observer where she has traveled including such places as Beijing and Los Angeles. She “transcribes” these observations into her paintings, particularly capturing the effects of culture, the modern world, and the sometimes hidden pressures on individuals.
Previous series of her paintings going back to 2011, typically depict a lone person or sometimes a couple, in identifiable surroundings (recognizable exterior or interior spaces). Starting in 2015, Sirpa adjusted her subject matter to focus on just the individual(s) in a field of emotionally charged color. This began her “Transcription” series starting with “Transcription I (Soldier)”. Since then, she has completed 41 paintings in the series, each different.
With the support of a grant from Finland for her to exhibit and travel abroad, we are pleased to show her newest paintings beginning with “Transcription 42” at Joseph Nease Gallery in Duluth, Minnesota in March 2019. We expect to have more than 20 of her paintings, all completed in the latter part of 2018, for you to see.
At right is "Transcription 44 (The World on Their Shoulders)", acrylic on canvas, 41" x 31", 2018.