SAMI LUKKARINENKirkkovärejä 4.12.2003 – 21.12.2003

The oil paintings of modern Finnish church architecture in this exhibition were completed in 2002-2003 and mostly feature suburban churches built in Finland between the 1950s and 1980s. What makes them interesting is their design and setting and I consider them to be outstanding examples of suburban architecture. I found photographs of the churches in my paintings on parish websites. The church architecture series is a continuation of my 4-year project of studying the relationship between digital images and the art of painting. Project topics included graffiti covered trains, international functionalist architecture and child growth from the aspect of information growth. I am convinced that the digital image and digitalisation will bring about new technical and content potential to the art of painting.

The principal tool using during my painting process was Photoshop Software, which I used to pick and manipulate the photograph to be painted. Photoshop also reduces the amount of picture information, so that the pixels are brought out more clearly. The pixels are enlarged and the computer logic calculates colour values and light. I vary the resolutions to create several versions of an image and base my painting on the best. The final image contains 800-2000 pixels and hundreds of different shades. When painting, I try to reproduce the pixel colours as faithfully as possible on canvas, but without retouching them later. Errors and imperfections introduce an important analogical element into my work. It is not only the different colour systems of the digital image and oil painting that meet in my work, but also their intangibility and materiality. Each painting is an attempt to discover a balance between modern architecture, digital image and oil painting.

Sami Lukkarinen