Acid Wash | Makasiini Contemporary, Turku Finland | January 2025
Roope Itälinna’s oil and acrylic paintings deceive the eye of the viewer with their acute attention to detail. Itälinna’s third solo exhibition at Makasiini Contemporary deals with escapism, for instance, as seen through the world of electronic music. The theme and the way these works have been executed continue the artist’s characteristic approach, although, this time, they differ from his previous work in containing elements of surrealism.
In the paintings, Itälinna’s own experiences and profound impressions from the past are mingled with imaginary situations and settings. The atmosphere is not unambiguous, nor is it easy to tell from looking at the characters whether they are bored or euphoric. Whether they are seeking ecstatic liberation, harmless hedonism amid the fog from smoke machines and the brightly coloured lights, or is it a survival mechanism – the ultimate reason remains obscure.The images in the exhibition range from tightly cropped close-ups to gloomy, spacious halls, and seemingly endless spaces. In Itälinna’s works the meticulous depiction of the objects – borrowed from photorealism, with even the tiniest details registered on the canvas – is combined with understated, minimalist picture surfaces. The choice of idea for a new work and its composition on canvas is usually the result of extended deliberation, sometimes, the right picture snapped in an instant is enough to get him started. The painting process takes a lot of time, demanding intense concentration and a protracted working process.
Besides numerous private collections, Itälinna’s works are in the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma. All the exhibition works were created during 2024 and their materials range from paintings on canvas and board to works on paper.
Slow Release | Makasiini Contemporary, Turku Finland | January 2023
”Born 1990 | Lives and works in Turku, Finland
Roope Itälinna’s deceptively precisely executed oil and acrylic paintings show moments from the lives of young adults. The meticulous mode of depiction borrowed from photorealism, in which even the minutest detail is recorded on canvas, is combined in Itälinna’s works with a minimalist style and understated surfaces. His choice of themes for his works and their overall composition usually follows long deliberation, sometimes an actual snapshot photograph is enough of an impulse. The painting process takes a long time, demands concentration and a slow work tempo, but for Itälinna these are pleasant and rewarding aspects of the working process.
The paintings in the exhibition centre on the theme of escapism. The gaze of some of the figures eludes the viewer and the situations in the pictures are set amid a variety of escapist activities, such as celebrations, travel and contemplation. The most visible features of several of the paintings have taken their inspiration from the world of electronic music and the places where it is performed. Typically, these places range from high, spacious warehouses to cramped concrete cellars, with those present hidden by the dense mist from smoke machines and by geometric patterns from projectors. Rave culture has conventionally been documented with a focus on its political and hedonistic aspects, but Itälinna is interested in the momentary, suspended nature of their settings. Besides a sense of belonging and empowerment, these places cut off from everyday life and the outside world, offer many people a chance to go deep into a meditative state and reflection.
The atmosphere of the paintings lies somewhere at the intersection between cold melancholy and warm euphoria. Work on some of them began during COVID restrictions, when travelling or holding events were not possible, never mind responsible. The only option was to create the environments in the works from memory or by modelling them with computer software. Besides traditional oil painting techniques, the paintings have variously used acrylic and airbrush -painting as well.”
