Alpo Jaakola

(FIN)

Stalke Galleri

Admiralgade 22, Copenhagen

27.11 to 16.12 1987

ALPO JAAKOLA

Alpo Jaakola debuted as an artist in 1951 and had his breakthrough in 1963. Since then, interest in his art in Finland has steadily grown. In 1985, he was awarded the title of honorary professor by the President of Finland.

In a Finnish text about the artist, it is stated, among other things: "Alpo Jaakola is an artist who lives in his fantasies and tells of these in his paintings. His works often resemble dream images both in atmosphere and subject matter. Humanity and nature are his inspiration and play a significant role in his painting. He has traits of a thinker, a seeker, and a mystic, but also of a lyricist, letting his works speak with emotional intensity."

The dark color palette and macabre mood characterized Alpo Jaakola's paintings in the 1950s, with titles that often suggested or created a striking contrast.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Jaakola's dark palette was transformed into something glowing and colorful. The surrealist forms were filled with detailed richness. Using the power of colors, shapes, and materials, he brought an adventurous movement into his depiction of reality and magic.

In the 1980s, primitivism became an increasingly central point in his art. In recent years, his work has been a field of exciting experimentation and activities in entirely new areas.

When Finnish journalist Kirsti Takalo-Eskola interviewed Alpo Jaakola in February 1963 during his exhibition in Turku and asked where he would most like to exhibit, he surprisingly replied: "In Denmark." He explained that although he had never been to Denmark, he imagined it must resemble his birthplace, Loimaa – just as flat..

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This wish is now being fulfilled – 25 years after he expressed it – with the exhibition at the Stalke  Gallery. It is also Alpo Jaakola's first exhibition outside Finland.

Alpo Jaakola is represented in a number of Finnish art museums and collections, including the Amos Anderson Art Museum and the Ateneum.

Finnish Naivist for Better or Worse

Alpo Jaakola’s exhibition at Stalke Gallery, Admiralgade 22. Until December 16, 1987

ALPO JAAKOLA is said to be a great painter in Finland, and in his best works, we can clearly understand why. However, the quality fluctuates uncertainly up and down, and at times, it feels as though we’re holding our breath. The excellence of one piece doesn’t preclude the failure of the next.

The 58-year-old Alpo Jaakola is a pure naïvist who fills his paintings with grand, wild emotions. In "Marja," he succeeds, translating all his tempestuous inspirations into painterly experiences, resulting in a simple and bold expressionist portrait. But in "Love and Transformer," it doesn’t really come together, and the painting is, in all its simplicity, a failure that runs aground on the shoals of naiveté.

The exhibition lies somewhere between the extremes of what is good – and what is less good. The painter would have benefited from someone to support him with critical help in the selection of works. It wouldn’t have been difficult to make better choices, and it would have resulted in a stronger, more cohesive, and consistent exhibition.

Gunnar Jespersen

Politiken – Thursday, December 10, 1987

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CONTACT:  STALKE@STALKE.DK

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