Krimin Commission / The Krimists Artist Group: Jonna Murtonen, Janette Holmström, Karoliina Mäkelä, and Katja Määttä

The Krimin komissio exhibition presents four young artists who are part of the larger Krimistit artist group. The exhibition features paintings by Jonna Murtonen, photographs by Janette Holmström, graphic works by Karoliina Mäkelä, and an installation by Katja Määttä.

The Krimistit group consists of artists from different fields, united by a shared home: an apartment building in Krimi. The Krimistit group was formed with the idea of preserving the community and collaboration that originated in Imatra, through exhibitions and projects.

The word “commission” refers to a working group that investigates a specific issue. The exhibition originated as a response to the hectic pace of modern life. The themes of the exhibition explore the significance of the moment and the layering and unraveling of emotions.

Jonna Murtonen
I graduated as a painter in the spring of 2011. I currently live and work in Imatra. My work focuses on different techniques of painting, with experimentation being a defining feature. The work I’m presenting in Krimin komissio consists of paintings made with ink, acrylics, and gesso, characterized by large sizes and a harmonious color palette.

I am fascinated by the grandness of subtlety. How small things and gestures can convey so much. The most significant event in my works is the light brushstroke combined with a sure line, and the dialogue between the two. I also find the spatial event in my paintings to be very meaningful.

The themes of my paintings often relate to moments I’ve experienced. I approach my subjects through emotions and intuition, in a way where perception transforms into a gesture and eventually leaves its mark on the canvas. In capturing internal experiences, I’ve found abstract expression to be my style.

Janette Holmström
Stories of Another Land
I am a photographer living and working in Imatra. In my work, my sources of inspiration are colors, as well as experiences and emotions created by nature and music. My works deal with short moments that hold great personal significance. I capture strong emotions, emotional outbursts, and the moments that follow them when a new beginning or a blank start occurs. Often, I explore these moments through the relationship between humans and nature. I use both film and digital cameras in my practice. Through photography, I create images by forming layers. The outcome is often painterly, with light giving the works both sensitivity and strength.

Stories of Another Land is a series consisting of four different photographic subseries. At Poriginal Gallery, works from the Rauha and Conversations with the Dawn series will be shown.

The works in Stories of Another Land are stories from the land of dreams. The pieces consist of layers, where elements merge and change form, building their own worlds, just as dreams do. The photographs were created by adding layers on top of each other, though everything took place in the moment of the photograph. The works are painterly, with colors and light acting as filters through which one can sense the atmosphere of a dream.

In these works, I’ve pondered the messages dreams bring and their significance—how dreams allow a person to process the events of the past day or years. Small, important things meet big, irrelevant moments, and vice versa. Dreams are also reflections of the self, personal stories that form their own world.

Other subseries in the Stories of Another Land collection include Forgotten Messages.

Karoliina Mäkelä
Let the Moment Be and Go
I have created two multi-part graphic series, as well as several individual paintings. Faces appear repeatedly in my works, but they are never the main focus—they are more like the backdrop for the subject itself.

My main theme is the significance of presence and momentariness. Presence is achieved most purely by being aware of the surrounding moment, without clinging to it. In the Touch of the Moon series, I’ve explored the impact of the annual cycle on me by creating a picture for each month, with each one relating to personal emotions tied to that time. The changing light and development of the flora strongly affect my existence. At times, I feel as though I live in rhythm with nature. Understanding the importance of presence has helped me understand the fleeting nature of emotional states.

Another theme I explore is perspective. I approach it through the dilemma of self-image. Is one’s own perception of oneself more significant than someone else’s perception? Does democracy apply here—does the perception of several people outweigh that of one? Or does the whole determine what’s true?

In the graphic series, I’ve used the technique of monoprinting, which combines drypoint and monotype. In one series, the same base image is repeated as a variation of the monotype, which supports both themes. The paintings are made with acrylic and oil.

Katja Määttä
Serious Play
I know a girl from a lonely street, cold as ice cream but still as sweet (Blondie)
I work by making collages and photographs. The works may be independent pieces or may come together as an installation, such as Serious Play.

My working method is intuitive, and the images find their place quickly; I process the work subconsciously, and when I take a photograph or create a collage, the feeling crystallizes into an image.

The imagery of my jewelry-like collages is formed from fashion magazines, fairy tales, and illustrations. In Serious Play, the collages function as mood setters for the photographs, sharpening the atmosphere.

Throughout our lives, we take on various roles; we remain the same individuals, but our feelings and state of being are always influenced by the moment and the people present. Serious Play tells the story of a girl who is exploring her boundaries by reflecting on the roles that have shaped her over the years or left their mark.

The installation consists of two parts: playing cards and photographs. The work deals with a girl’s growth into womanhood and her choices and options.

One theme in the imagery of the playing cards is the duality of the good girl and the bad girl. Their variations and opposites meet in the cards.

The central themes of Serious Play are letting go and growth.

This text was created with AI assistance.