from under the rock
Seppo Hautaniemi Perc Tucker Regional Gallery 27 January – 4 March 2018
New Life
Castle Hill 7
Castle Hill 2
Rock 3
Seppo Hautaniemi is my favorite kind of artist. He works away, uinconcerned with the machinations of the art world, for the love it, the love of studio and materials. Emerging from ‘underneath his rock’, with works created over the last ten years, Hautaniemi challenges us with distinctive and varying responses to the world around us. While the exhibition comprises, by Hautaniemi’s own admission, three series of work, each addressing a different concern, there is a clear through-line running amid the work. Landscape is the inescapable grounding for each of the three series, and appears to be a rich vein of artistic variations for the artist to mine. Hautaniemi summarizes these three series succinctly…
One would be forgiven for finding a certain level of humour in certain works, a result of the juxtaposition of landscape, a tradition with a long and often po-faced history in art practice, usually executed in straight up observational mode, with the bulbous and awkward forms suggestive of sexual anatomy. Egg-like forms drip and distend. Geometric forms melt and warp amongst forced perspective and luminescent oblongs. These works are fun, surreal, and take full advantage of the uncanny wonders of the natural world. Here, exploration and experimentation take precedence, with varying visual results, which is to be expected after a sustained period of work. What is unexpected is how many visual possibilities the artist has found; Hautaniemi has opened at least four visual cans of worms. I, for one, look forward to seeing which direction they wriggle and writhe.
- Jonathan McBurnie, January 2018
The first series of about eight paintings is themed around the metamorphosis of Castle Hill to a phallic symbol. The second series is a study of colour and shapes to an unknown situation or place. The third and final series is installations of women’s struggle and position in modern society where electronics have given her greater freedom than ever. Three such varied concerns may at first appear irreconcilable, but upon reflection, they are actually three facets of the same long-term investigation of form, which connects all of Hautaniemi’s works. To consider the contemporary world in terms of masculinity or femininity, exclusive of each other, seems a strange proposition, and Hautaniemi explores these subjects with acuity, without preaching or didactic condescension; this is a discussion, not a screed. Castle Hill 8
list of works 2016
1. Castle Hill 1 2007 Watercolour on paper 50 x 60 cm $550
11. Rock 1 2017 Pastel on paper 72 x 61 cm $425
21. Promised Land Oil on canvas 144 x 187 cm $1,400
2. Castle Hill 2 2007 Watercolour on paper 60 x 50 cm $550
12. Rock 2 2017 Pastel on paper 72 x 61 cm $425
22. Ghost Trees 2016 Acrylic on canvas 217 x 143 cm $1,400
3. Australia Day 2007 Watercolour on paper 60 x 50 cm $550
13. Rock 3 2017 Pastel on paper 57 x 72 cm $425
23. Meeting Place Oil on canvas 226 x 145 cm $1,500
4. Castle Hill 4 2007 Watercolour on paper 50 x 60 cm $550
14. Rock 4 2017 Pastel on paper 72 x 61 cm $425
24. New Life 2016 Oil on canvas 155 x 145 cm $950
5. Castle Hill 5 2007 Watercolour on paper 60 x 50 cm $550
15. Rock 5 2017 Pastel on paper 52 x 61 cm $425
25. Long Dry 2016 Oil on canvas 336 x 170 cm $1,200
6. Castle Hill 6 2007 Watercolour on paper 50 x 60 cm $550
16. Rock 6 2017 Pastel on paper 71 x 61 cm $425
7. Castle Hill 7 2007 Watercolour on paper 50 x 60 cm $550
17. Rock 7 2017 Pastel on paper 63 x 53 cm $425
26. Bloodied Road From Dream Time Mixed media 121 x 99 cm $900
8. Castle Hill 8 2007 Watercolour on paper 36 x 31 cm $450
18. Rock 8 2017 Pastel on paper 62 x 51 cm $425
9. Shoe 2007 Watercolour on paper 60 x 50 cm $550
19. Rock 9 2017 Pastel on paper 62 x 72 cm $425
10. Egg, Key and Door 2007 Watercolour on paper 60 x 50 cm $550
20. Straight Road Oil on canvas 290 x 144 cm $1,500
2016
2016
27. From under the Rock 2017 Installation 320 x 227 x 137 cm $2,200 28. Birth of Modern Venus Installation 126 x 270 cm $1,500
2016
Long Dry
29. Sorry Darling I Didn’t Mean to Hurt You (But You Made Me Do It) Installation 183 x 80 cm $900
2017
2017
Castle Hill 4
Castle Hill 6
Published and organised by Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville City Council PO Box 1268 Townsville Queensland, 4810 Australia ptrg@townsville.qld.gov.au ŠGalleries, Townsville City Council and the authors 2018 Judith Jensen - Acting Team Manager Libraries and Galleries Erwin Cruz - Exhibitions and Collection Coordinator Louise Cummins - Education and Programs Coordinator Rob Donaldson - Digital Media and Exhibition Design Coordinator Carly Sheil - Digital Media and Exhibition Design Officer Leonardo Valero - Exhibitions Officer Emily Donaldson - Exhibitions Officer Stephanie Smith - Collections Management Officer Tanya Tanner - Public Art Officer Sarah Reddington - Education and Programs Officer Nicole Richardson - Education and Programs Assistant Danielle Berry - Arts Officer Wendy Bainbridge - Gallery Assistant Jo Lankester - Gallery Assistant Jake Pullyn - Gallery Assistant Chloe Lindo - Gallery Assistant Rachel Cunningham - Gallery Assistant Michael Favot - Gallery Assistant
Published on the occasion of
Contributing Authors Jonathan McBurnie Publication Design and Photography Carly Sheil
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery Cnr. Flinders and Denham St. Townsville QLD 4810 Mon - Fri: 10am - 5pm Sat - Sun: 10am - 2pm Closed Public Holidays
(07) 4727 9011 ptrg@townsville.qld.gov.au whatson.townsville.qld.gov.au PercTuckerTCC