In the Nordic Business Forum exhibition From Renaissance to Obama - Looking at Self Through Technology will be presented Lukkarinen's interpretations everything from the oldest painted selfie in the world (Jan van Eyck - Portrait of a Man 1433) to portraits of young and older Barack Obama, the first president of social media era. In between you can also find a painting of the first known camera selfie by Robert Cornelius while he was inventing a camera in 1839; young Marilyn Monroe before she came an icon of popular culture; a portrait of the prince of social media, the founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg and many more.

 

Three Flash & Mirror paintings (2006-2010) in Glitch Art Exhibition in Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art.

http://kuntsi.vaasa.fi/index_eng.html

Sami Lukkarinen’s (b. 1976) new exhibition pays homage to the grisaille technique, a style of painting executed entirely in shades of grey. With artfully arranged strokes of the palette knife, he sketches out the history of the black-and-white spectrum in western painting, starting from medieval stained glass and grey-scale frescos by Giotto. Among the oldest motifs to which he alludes are Albrecht Dürer’s Renaissance self-portraits and altarpieces by Jan Van Eyck. Closer to the contemporary moment, he reworks black-and-white photographs of popular icons in combinations of black and sparkling silver.

 

Lukkarinen explores how the grisaille scale evokes certain emotional states. His versions of Frankenstein’s monster and Marilyn Monroe suggest a sense of insecurity and being an outsider. The story of Frankenstein’s monster is indeed a tragic one: the monster tries to do good deeds, but only succeeds in hurting others with his clumsiness. The Marilyn series portrays the young actress at the age 20, yet an unknown starlet without an inkling of her future celebrity. The series portrays Monroe lost in her world, deep in thought, as if searching for her identity.

 

The timeline ends with the social media era and a color image of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. These days all shades of grey are processed by the black-and-white filters of online apps. The artist was inspired by a study conducted at Harvard University in 2017, which revealed that the majority of people who post black-and-white images on social media are verifiably depressed. Images posted on social media are nevertheless influenced by trends, some of which may romanticize depression and anxiety. Despite these melancholy themes, Lukkarinen infuses his work with his characteristic humor and irony.

http://www.galerieforsblom.com/exhibitions/sami-lukkarinen4

Galerie von Braunbehrens shows my paintings in Art Karlsruhe, Stand C29.

http://www.galerie-braunbehrens.de/

Galerie von Braunbehrens shows my paintings in Art Miami at Booth A203

http://www.galerie-braunbehrens.de/

My Paintings no.7 (2007) and Mark Zuckerberg (2015) in group show "With Seven-league Boots. Stop - Finland. Works from Kiasma Collection in Art Museum Riga Bourse.

http://www.lnmm.lv/en/mmrb/visit/exhibitions/3836-with-seven-league-boots-stop-finland

New paintings from Jan van Eyck´s first self-portrait to my unshared selfies in  solo exhibition at Galerie von Braunbehrens Stuttgart. Openings of the show 15th of September at 7pm. Welcome!

http://www.galerie-braunbehrens.de/

Link to Catalog with text by Christian Gögger and an interview with Berthold Naumann:

http://www.galerie-braunbehrens.de/files/katalog_samy_lukkarinen.pdf

My painting Self Portait After 9 Hours in Techno Club in Kunsthalle Helsinki Summer Groupshow. Welcome!

http://taidehalli.fi/en/nayttelyt/

Silver Mark Zuckerberg in Armory Show!

A Commission for Clarion Hotel Helsinki is ready and hotel open for visitors. Nine paintings permanently in Hotel lobby, restaurant, congress center and sky bar.