Installation view. Photo: Courtesy of Cooper Cole
The paintings of Anders Oinonen look much like the end result of a collision that has occurred between several different worlds. Part landscape, part portraiture, and part self-reflexive abstraction. The paintings that make up Oinonen’s solo exhibition at Cooper Cole introduce visitors to a series of vaguely-human characters. Oinonen’s figures blend seamlessly into their environments, and are constructed with both gestural and geometric abstract forms. Each individual portrait suggests that the painting itself is an anthropomorphic character engrossed in introspective thought. Some paintings appear pensive and brooding, while others, like Hubbu, with its pursed lips and crossed eyes, just look vacant.
Anders Oinonen, “Phiz”, 2015, Oil on canvas, 66″ x 48″. Photo: Courtesy of Cooper Cole
Anders Oinonen, “Hubbu”, 2014, Oil on canvas, 24″ x 20″. Photo: Courtesy of Cooper Cole
The faces present in Oinonen’s paintings could be called cartoony if it weren’t for the sophisticated brushwork that helps to steer the imagery away from being overtly graphic, and the muddied colours that keep the palette from being densely saturated. The white walls of the gallery neatly frame each painting while affording the larger works some breathing room. On the right hand side, three paintings are hung sequentially from high to low, like an awkwardly spaced cascade. This placement perhaps suggests an external narrative, one that appears to end with a large painting of a ruminating humanoid in glasses.
Anders Oinonen, “Untitled (Glasses)”, 2015, Oil on canvas, 72″ x 60″. Photo: Courtesy of Cooper Cole
Installation view. Photo: Courtesy of Cooper Cole
Oinonen’s solo exhibition at Cooper Cole, for those with an interest in contemporary painting, is a must see.
Madeleine Till
*Exhibition information: January 22 – February 21, 2015, Cooper Cole Gallery, 1161 Dundas Street West, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed, Thu, Fri: 1 – 6, Sat: 11 – 6p.m.