Creatives, Now

Habitare Signature – Mika Tolvanen x Markus Rissanen

The Signature exhibition at the interior design fair Habitare brings together design and contemporary art and discovers what happens when well-known designers and architects pick their favorite works from the world of contemporary art. Signature is curated for Habitare by Katja Räisänen and Mia Dillemuth.

In this collaboration, Around Journal launches the concept of a dialogue between creators by inviting them to interview each other and talk about creativity. The interviews published online take the visitor more deeply into these creators’ minds. (Continues..)

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Creatives, Now

Habitare Signature – Maija Louekari x Rauha Mäkilä

The Signature exhibition at the interior design fair Habitare brings together design and contemporary art and discovers what happens when well-known designers and architects pick their favorite works from the world of contemporary art. Signature is curated for Habitare by Katja Räisänen and Mia Dillemuth. (Continues…)

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Creatives, Now

Studio visit: Fanny Tavastila

Fanny Tavastila’s work draws upon a nuanced spectrum of emotions. She builds her paintings slowly, layer upon layer: they are an intuitive and multifaceted examination of the relationship between the visible and the hidden, the everyday and the elegiac, the figurative and abstract. With an innate and lyrical sense of color, rhythm, texture and composition, her paintings capture the essence of that which is not easily expressed in words. (Continues…)

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Creatives, Now

Tuomas A. Laitinen: A Porous Share

Tuomas A. Laitinen is a visual artist working mainly with video, light and installation. For his recent exhibition at Helsinki Contemporary gallery he continues to investigate the current questions related to biopolitics and ecology. Laitinen’s approach is as relevant as ever; manmade toxins and increasing pollution threaten the human existence. “The exhibition name reveals the concept of porousness, which for me is a way to think about dissolving the boundaries of binary thinking. I am interested in how ideas seep through each other organically.” (Continues…)

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Creatives, Now

HAVINA JÄNTTI

The renaissance moment in menswear inspired Around Journal to interview designer Havina Jäntti for her modern, and more unisex take on fashion. Gender has become a footnote; individualism arises. “I think the growth of gender-fluid fashion is a reflection of the society, since the importance of gender and the roles they bear are not as prominent as they have been in the past. Already some fashion houses have combined their men’s and women’s shows and present them as one collection. I think it’s a very natural thing to do.” (Continues…)

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Creatives, Now

AALTO International – Tuomas Merikoski

Around Journal had the pleasure to interview Tuomas Merikoski, designer and the creator of AALTO International. The successful Paris-based brand has its roots in Finnish culture and is enriched by international influences. Merikoski with his label is one of the four nominees for the highly respected ANDAM prize 2017. Merikoski is interested in creating a new kind of cultural Finnish identity. He is fascinated by collaborations with visual and other art forms, changing the formats and ways of working. (Continues…)

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Aesthetics, Now

Nataal: New African Photography II

Around Journal interviewed Helen Jennings who is one of the founders of London-based global media brand Nataal. The beautifully curated platform celebrates African visual arts, fashion, music and society. In collaboration with Brooklyn creative space Red Hook Labs, Nataal just opened their second co-curated group exhibition. “New African Photography II features nine contemporary artists whose work engages with present-day Africa. The selected artists will be showing personal bodies of work addressing issues of representation and identity and celebrating fresh perspectives on the continent.” (Continues…)

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Creatives, Now

Erno Enkenberg: We Were Promised to be Taken Care Of

Visual artist Erno Enkenberg is a master of suspense. In his minimalistic and well-detailed oil paintings the conclusion is left open for the viewer to decide. A carefully planned randomness in the composition of the large scale artworks gives the images a snap shot effect. Photography is a starting point of his work since all the paintings have miniature doubles. Around had the chance to interview Enkenberg at his studio and exclusively investigate these photo-sketches. (Continues…)

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Creatives, Now

ensæmble

ensæmble is a multidisciplinary collective with Finnish, Russian and Belgian roots, calling Helsinki home. The everyday life of ensæmble is run by Alisa Närvänen and Elina Peltonen. These two have a symbiotic way of working in which it is impossible to say where one’s work ends and the other begins. Their work is now being presented at the fashion after Fashion exhibition at the MAD museum in New York among six designer teams who are rethinking fashion. (Continues…)

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Creatives, Now

Oltmans van Niekerk – Future Visions

Vision 2019

Around visited the Oltmans van Niekerk (OvN) Design Studio in Delft, the Netherlands and had a discussion with the founders Liesbeth Oltmans and Els van Niekerk. They work in futures studies on lifestyle and design and have just released the latest edition of the annual consumer insight forecast 20/20 Vision 2019>. (Continues…)

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