Anne Sunila
Basic information
b. 1954, Helsinki
Visual Artist, Doctor of Arts
Residence: HELSINKI
Contact information
Phone number: +3580503384638
Artist’s Statement
My artistic work is based on the long artistic processes, which can last many years. However the prosesses have been divaided to different artistic projects. So I may work in different places as well as in countries for the certain whole of artworks. The stating point for me as an artist is the attitude of researching. That is why I have got oriented in artistic research in the doctoral studies, which I carried out as practical artmaking and maping the theoretical frame. The doctoral theses ”Dimensional Lived Spatiality” were puplished 2019.
I wrote as an conclusion of the research: ”The artist interprets place/space as bodily movement, dimensionality and different sensory perceptions and sensations arising from the dimensional surroundings. The gaze of the painter extends in the space of depth and the concept of dimensionality allows imaginary dimensionality, a kind of ability to touch with mediums and gaze, progress in the surroundings, and turns also to psyche, memory and bodily sensations. The research brings up reciprocal opening, which takes place under influential relationships between the environment, the artist and the works.”
I wrote about painting connection to my solo exhibition ”Wonderland” (Art Hall of Porvoo 2017) as follows:
"My paintings have a connection to places in different environments. My work in these places could be characterized as a study of the experience of being in an environment. The place as a concrete entity and the experience of a spatial dimension are intertwined. This is the starting point for my analysis, and it applies to all kinds of environments, making any traditional categories, such as city versus countryside, impractical."
The artist residency Cité des Arts in Paris has played important role in my artistic work. I have stayed there in the years 2007, 2009, 2012, 2016, 2018 and 2020. Especially I have concentrated there to examine city spaces and places, which has been the main theme in the artistic project called ”City places, Paris – Helsinki” (2009-2015).
Working in Paris has encouraged me to realize my artistic insight. I like to emphasize the meaning of independent artistic thinking and solutions in visual form and in this case in painting. Thinking and research are part of my painting work. This attitude led me to study artistic research.
My artistic medium is mainly tempera painting. Alongside the working process paintings develop unexpected ways and them may finally be consisted of many parts and have a quite large size. Transparency of tempera color gives the opportunity to keep the painting process open and the work is getting its form stage by stage.
I live at the artist house of Lallukka in Helsinki.
I wrote as an conclusion of the research: ”The artist interprets place/space as bodily movement, dimensionality and different sensory perceptions and sensations arising from the dimensional surroundings. The gaze of the painter extends in the space of depth and the concept of dimensionality allows imaginary dimensionality, a kind of ability to touch with mediums and gaze, progress in the surroundings, and turns also to psyche, memory and bodily sensations. The research brings up reciprocal opening, which takes place under influential relationships between the environment, the artist and the works.”
I wrote about painting connection to my solo exhibition ”Wonderland” (Art Hall of Porvoo 2017) as follows:
"My paintings have a connection to places in different environments. My work in these places could be characterized as a study of the experience of being in an environment. The place as a concrete entity and the experience of a spatial dimension are intertwined. This is the starting point for my analysis, and it applies to all kinds of environments, making any traditional categories, such as city versus countryside, impractical."
The artist residency Cité des Arts in Paris has played important role in my artistic work. I have stayed there in the years 2007, 2009, 2012, 2016, 2018 and 2020. Especially I have concentrated there to examine city spaces and places, which has been the main theme in the artistic project called ”City places, Paris – Helsinki” (2009-2015).
Working in Paris has encouraged me to realize my artistic insight. I like to emphasize the meaning of independent artistic thinking and solutions in visual form and in this case in painting. Thinking and research are part of my painting work. This attitude led me to study artistic research.
My artistic medium is mainly tempera painting. Alongside the working process paintings develop unexpected ways and them may finally be consisted of many parts and have a quite large size. Transparency of tempera color gives the opportunity to keep the painting process open and the work is getting its form stage by stage.
I live at the artist house of Lallukka in Helsinki.
Current information
My upcoming solo exhibition will be at Galleria A2 24.3.-18.4.2025.I worked as an artist-in-residence at the Finnish Institute at Athens in Greece in summer 2023.
The artistic workprocess under the title Elementary has continued and brought new artwoks. In relationto this stage there was presented a solo exhibition at Promenadi Gallery 11.3.-29.3.2023 in Hyvinkää. I worked in Southen France during the autumn time 2022.
There was presented a solo exhibition Elementary at Gallery Joella in Turku 27.4.-22.5.2022. The artworks are connected to the place and on that how one experiences the environment when working in the place.
My solo exhibition Elementary was presented 5.2.-27.2.2022 at Sudio of Culture House Laikku in Tampere. I have been working on with the artistic project since 2020. There are two palces, where I have made artistic studies. The other one is a building with its surroundings in Paria and the other one a place in natural environment in Finland. Due to this I stayed in Paris 2018 and 2021 at the residence, Citè Internationale des Arts.
The doctoral theses Dimensional - Lived Spatiality, Art of Painting Based on The Environment was finished 2018. The research is grounded on my artistic project City Places, Paris - Helsinki. The thesis defense was 15th March 2019. The studies was based on artistic research, which consists both artistic work and writing. I worked in both towns at the same kind of places. Researching attitude is main point in my artistic work.
There was a solo exhibition called Wonderland at Art Hall of Porvoo 17.11.-10.12.2017. For the exhibition I worked in Paris during the springtime 2016. The exhibition was part of Finland's hundred years celebrations.
There was a solo exhibition Echo of Time at Gallery Teijo 4.6.-16.7.2017 in Salo. Solo exhibition Subreal, which was part of my doctoral studies, was presented at tm•gallery 22.4.-10.5.2015 in Helsinki.
