Seppo Salminen Johannes S, Side Chapel

“I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands”

I’ve been working in Italy for longer periods of time, and just like most tourists, I’ve spent my time getting to know the architecture and artworks of the churches. Lately I’ve been especially fascinated by the side chapels located on both sides of the nave and their banal, even over-sentimental sculptures and paintings that I find more interesting than the main pieces of those churches.

Often donated by old, wealthy families, the chapels and their extravagant decorativeness and the spiritual patheticness of their art have made a huge impact on me. As I look back at my work I feel strange closeness and similarity in my own serious artistic endeavours and my position in the art field. The idea of having an exhibition at Gallery Sculptor was born of the space itself – the “side chapel” located next to the main exhibition space.

The exhibition continues some of the themes I went through as I created works for The Extacy of Saint Theresa exhibition at Amos Anderson Art Museum in 2015. The exhibition space is yet again approximately the same size and shape as my studio in our basement, yet the events have now shifted from the basement to situations that remind me of scary visions i experienced as a child – moments during which everyday perceptions turned into epiphanies.”

Performances by Seppo Salminen 3.1.2019 at 5 pm, and on Sundays Jan 6th, 20th and 27th 2019 at 2 pm.