

KALLE NURMINEN
2022
Visual Arts
has staged classical plays, musicals, operas and films
56 year old artist and scenographer Kalle Nurminen was born in Nokia, Finland 1965.
He went art high school and art school MAA in Helsinki. First private exhibition was in Reykjavik , Iceland 1991.
After some work on his technique and materials, he became interested in stage design. He graduated from the University of Art and Design in Helsinki in 2001. His thesis was a film JOKI. Instead of films, he then signed a contract with a small Kemi theater in northern Finland. There he found a great place to grow his art, an old dairy that became his studio.
During Kemi period, he had solo and group exhibitions mainly in northern Finland. Mainly acrylic paintings, but also sculptures and collages. There he became more interested in certain types of mirror altars, mixing recycled materials into religious architecture spiced with humorous confusion.
In Nurminen's work, the world is a bit dark, even dystopian. Monumental works are created even from a laundry basket or a plastic tray.
"I have given myself permission to play and let the fantasy fly - apparently my parents will let it go somehow and set no limits for myself. When I was younger, I kept my theater and my art separate, but now I have noticed that without a director's job, there would be no story to tell in my work, ”says Nurminen.
Religions, styles and materials blend elegantly with Kalle's work, but his work shows that animals have a special role in his art.
"In many religions, a person is often placed in a holy place, but I want to place animals there in my work. Perhaps I imagine a time when worlds have merged and people have been replaced by animals. The animals have risen to the stage in the midst of power, ”says Nurminen.
Today, he uses all kinds of materials for his unique altars and collages. The main characters in his works are usually animals who replace human saints.




