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Born in 1954, lives and works in Karjalohja, Finland.
Pekka Kainulainen is one of the pioneers of Finnish performance art; however this is the first time that his work is presented in New York. He has been active, mainly in Finland since the early 1980s. His work always carries with it a strong emotional and physical presence, and at the same time a light poetic though profound humanity that only can be experienced. In a sense Kainulainen is an artistic shaman, bringing profound poetry and humanity to those that have the chance to experience his work.
In an essay on his work, the Finnish writer Iriis Pessa notes:
“In his art Pekka Kainulainen uses mythological methods that construct a story in order to describe ways of perceiving and understanding. In many of his performances he demonstrates to the audience the internal changes that happen when feeling and thought slowly create pictures and new meanings. His work often includes a very concrete coming into view or of being bared.
Even though Kainulainen is, in the end, very serious about his subject matter, the energy flows of his art encompass playful and carnivalesque laughter. His choice of material is often surprising. An altered being who has been searching for his real self is born and tears his way out of a heap of soil, grass, from underneath a moose skin, out of bubble plastic wrapping or from amidst printed advertisements. An old face is pealed off to reveal a new one.”
Please visit Pekka Kainulainens website.
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