How many different shades of red can you name? Not as many as Riiko Sakkinen, I’ll wager, although a lot of his 57 varieties might be entirely new creations of the artist’s imagination; Ferrari Red is a classic, but you’ll get funny looks at B&Q if you turn up asking for Khmer Rouge, Socialism, or Red Herring. Sakkinen’s annotated monochrome paintings playing with the Heinz advertising slogan were created for this year’s Carnegie Art Award, and are part of an exhibition at Korjaamo Galleria in Helsinki, and marks a return home for the artists who has been living and working in Spain since 2003.
Sakkinen’s ceramics and larger scale paintings are perhaps the more accessibly entertaining aspect of the collection, being shown as Rikko Sakkinen Painted Himself Into a Corner; both branches employ a cartoon innocence in style which act as a disarming introduction to some fairly scathing messages wrapped up within them. Politics, religion and the foreign policies of Western governments are all called into question in a cutesy Japanese anime manner. Closing date for the show is 13 April.
57 VARIETIES
2013, Mixed media on wood
WE DEMAND FREEDOM OF SPEECH
(BUT WE HAVE NOTHING TO SAY)
2010, Acrylic colour, enamel color,
permanent maker and acrylic varnish on canvas
CURRY FLAVORED CHEMICAL WEAPONS, 2013
Hand painted Talavera ceramic plate:
Virginia Decoradores Cerámicos,
Talavera de la Reina
BUKKAGE KOGAL, 2010
Acrylic colour, enamel color, pigment,
permanent maker and acrylic varnish on canvas
CEREAL WITH SHARIA, 2014
Hand painted Talavera ceramic
Talavera de la Reina
SIN TETAS NO HAY CAPITALISMO, 2014
Hand painted Talavera ceramic plate:
Virginia Decoradores Cerámicos,
Talavera de la Reina
I LOVE MONEY
2011, Acrylic colour and enamel color on canvas
MY IDEOLOGY IS AS RED AS MY FERRARI, 2011
Hand painted Talavera ceramic plate:
Alfar El Carmen,
Talavera de la Reina
CUPCAKE PEBBLES, 2014
Hand painted Talavera ceramic plate:
Virginia Decoradores Cerámicos,
Talavera de la Reina
All images courtesy, Korjaamo Galleria
and Riiko Sakkinen
