Group Exhibition: Hard Cut
-
Helsinki Contemporary is proud to present paintings by Jon Koko (Sweden), Marie Rud Rosenzweig (Denmark), and Marlon Wobst (Germany) in the group exhibition Hard Cut. This marks the first presentation of Koko’s and Rosenzweig’s work to Finnish audiences. Wobst’s paintings were previously shown at Helsinki Contemporary in 2016 as part of the Animal Farm exhibition, alongside works by sculptor Roland Persson, who was recently awarded the Ars Fennica Prize.
All three artists construct multi-layered paintings that play with the flatness of the picture plane in distinctive ways. Often embracing narrativity, they explore the human condition through depictions of landscapes, objects, or architecture in styles that verge on abstraction.
Merging Japanese and Nordic aesthetics, Jon Koko’s paintings possess a pronounced spatial and architectural quality. Rendered in a calm, earthy palette, they suggest cinematic scenes, deriving their intensity from the meticulous placement of figures on the flat picture plane, which creates complex relationships with their surroundings. With hushed and serene sensitivity, Koko examines the “frames” created by the buildings and landscapes we inhabit.
Marie Rud Rosenzweig explores the world through objects and forms, reflecting on how they serve as vessels for stories, ideologies, systems, and desires. Drawing inspiration from science fiction, popular culture, fairy tales, language, and her own experiences, her paintings resemble carefully composed stage sets or still lifes, constructed through a slow, deliberate layering process. Central to her practice are cropping and cutting, the symbolic use of colour, and the exploration of dynamic tensions between diverse forms.
In Marlon Wobst’s work, natural phenomena and water motifs serve as compelling tools of storytelling. He portrays human figures with empathy, often depicting them drifting through ethereal landscapes – swimming in water, moving through twilit settings or crowds, or skating on mirror-like ice. His works convey depth and emotional intensity through the tangible depiction of air and water – elements that are neutral yet palpably present. Wobst’s landscapes perhaps feel more like landscapes of the mind than representations of observed reality.