Waves in between/In-between waves art collection

Inka Bell: Net 3 (gray), Net 5 (black), Net 6 (dark green), Net 2 (light pink) (2021)
Bell’s graphic art has been presented in several exhibitions in Finland and abroad. In her works, Bell often explores the relationship between two- and three-dimensionality through material, colour, surface and repetition. Strong colours and contrast play a central role in Bell’s works. So does paper. In Bell’s art, three-dimensional, laser-cut paper may end up framed between two sheets of glass to provide a view into the structures of the waves. The large lithographs in the Kide building were hand-printed in the United States at the Tamarind Institute, where Bell worked as an invited residency artist in 2019 and she continued to work with the series in Helsinki Litho. The simple and minimalist beauty of the sliding colours of her works can be found in every detail. Bell is fascinated by visual phenomena and the endless possibilities of building visual surfaces. Aalto University’s collection includes Bell’s works from a period of five years. 

Kari Laitinen: Dimension VII (2017)
The intertwining colours in the works of Laitinen could be examined like waves in natural waters. Laitinen’s woodcuts encourage us to reflect on philosophical questions, such as: What is between the waves? Where does one colour end and another begin? The artist calls his works objects of contemplation as a counterweight to today’s busy and materialistic lifestyle. What is the emptiness around an object? In Eastern cultures, emptiness plays a central role, as a concept related to the perception of phenomena and environments. In the old Japanese culture, space and time were experienced commensurately rather than as separate serial systems as in the West. This has led Laitinen to a reflection in which he can look at phenomena through both the object and the empty space surrounding it. In Finland, the synonym for emptiness could also be silence.

Sanna Hellikki Suova: Stripes - Green & petrol blue and Pink, grey, green & brown (2021) 
Suova (former Turunen) works with graphic design, drawing, illustrations and graphic arts. The four serigraphs on display in the Kide building are from Suova’s Raita series. Repetition appears in different ways in the 30 works of the series, creating stripes, grids and varying shapes. The starting point for the work was a certain kind of feel created by the pressure of the textile on the skin, by the way the textile forms different surfaces on the body. The works acquired to the Kide building were created at the printing table, in layer by layer of colour. Suova does not use a key plate typical for serigraphy. Each colour is mixed and printed one after the other, and the artist intuitively decides when the work is finished.

Sakke Yrjölä: Spotted dragonet (2023), caught 6/2023, Kristiansand, Agder, Norway
In the eyes of Yrjölä colourful fish with their glittering scales are like jewels. Yrjölä has been a fish enthusiast since childhood, and likes fishing as well as fish dishes. The graphic artist / illustrator’s working method is quite exceptional: he catches most of the fish himself, photographs them fresh and finally draws and paints them in detail. The paintings in Aalto University’s art collection depict Atlantic fish caught in Norway. Among the marine fish in the Norwegian Sea are fish – such as the velvet belly (Etmopterus spinax) – that use electric organs to find food. Fish similar to velvet belly sense weak electrical changes, which helps them to catch food hiding under the sand. With his works, Sakke Yrjölä wants to emphasise that we need to protect biodiversity as much as possible.