6 August - 27 October 2002
at the Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art, Turku, Finland

9 November 2002 - 23 February 2003
at ARKEN Museum for Moderne Kunst, Ishøj, Denmark


Stop for a Moment - Painting as Presence is the last exhibition in a series that started at Gävle Konstcentrum in Sweden with Painting as a Place to Be and continued at Proje4L in Istanbul with Painting as Narrative. All three exhibitions investigate and make visible the multifarious means used in contemporary 'painting proper', in an environment where other means quite often seem to be more relevant and viable in today's context. The artists in the exhibitions are from the Nordic countries. The reasons for this were not tied up with any ideas that there is or should be a typically 'Nordic' scene within this medium (or any other medium, for that matter). The selections were made according to the curators' personal judgement, and do not reflect any attempt to make a comprehensive survey of the area, which would in any case be futile. We also wanted to stop for a moment and pay enough attention and give enough time to the process, and to avoid the situation in which exhibitions are put together in a fast, flea-market manner.

In the two previous exhibitions we concentrated on various topics related to the possibilities of painting. The first exhibition looked at the viability and possibility of 'abstract' painting, and the second focused on narrative strategies. The question of painting's relevance, or lack of it, comes up periodically. Rather than going too deep into that discussion, there is a more pressing need to concentrate on the positive aspects of this medium. Why do people still paint? Why are paintings still looked at?

Robert Storr, an artist, critic and curator, has analysed the relevance of painting, saying that, instead of dying, art forms fall into disuse or misuse. Recombination of fragments of previous ways of thinking and doing, together with a fresh understanding of the emerging social and aesthetic reality, make it possible for genuinely new conventions and new objectives for the medium to emerge.

Many of the surveys of contemporary painting have consisted of works from the 'extended field of painting'. More often than not, one has left these undoubtedly seminal exhibitions wondering whether it was more a question of the curators' or the events' will and quest for prestige than of the artists' genuine efforts that led to the selection of a wide variety of media under the umbrella term 'painting'. The ever-accelerating speed of the artworld, the continuous search after novelty, and the often futile attempts to incorporate different developments have resulted in neglect of traditional means - painting among them.

The first Stop for a Moment exhibition, Painting as a Place to be, was shown earlier this year at the Gävle Konstcentrum, Sweden. The series continued in the summer at Proje4L - Istanbul Museum for Contemporary Art, with the exhibition Painting as Narrative. Following the Turku exhibition, Painting as Presence will be shown at Denmark's ARKEN Museum of Modern Art, from November 10 onwards.

The exhibition is a collaboration between NIFCA and the Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art and ARKEN.
Curators: Kari Immonen and Mika Hannula

For more information see: www.nifca.org/stopforamoment

Stop for a Moment - Painting as Presence is accompanied by a
64 page full-colour catalogue with an introductory essay, artists' interviews and illustrations.

Artists in this exhibition:

Marcus Eek
Anna Fro Vodder
Jukka Korkeila
John Kørner
Elina Merenmies
Tiina Elina Nurminen
Tal R