Born 1991 I Lives and works in Helsinki, Finland
Jaakko Hukkanen’s works present landscapes with classical forms and measured compositions. His serene colour palette strengthens the works aim, to reach simplicity, creating a harmonious and calm atmosphere. The experience of the space is simultaneously strictly architectural and vivid.
The understanding of space as a personal, empirical phenomenon, together with a profound engagement with the history of art and architecture, is fundamental to Hukkanen’s paintings. His works bear clear traces of the symmetry and structural regularity characteristic of the Italian Renaissance. The presence of the classical orders and harmonious façades serves to emphasize systematic and proportionally regulated spatial relationships. At the same time, the spatial illusion perceived by the viewer is not solely constructed by the image itself but is also informed by the viewer’s own memories and lived experiences. This can similarly be seen referring to the Renaissance measurement, which was based on the human scale.
Hukkanen uses oil, pastel and beeswax as a medium. The solid-seeming forms, combined with fields of colour, appear simultaneously timeless and modern. The subtlety of the light, which is here composed of delicate and perceptive changes in colour, emphasizes the principles of the perspective and balance. The rhythm between stillness and movement guides the viewer forward through the composition of the work. The reality of the abstract world affects the viewer on an unconscious level.
Hukkanen has studied in the Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki as well as e.g. Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna, Italy. He has exhibited his works in several international galleries. Hukkanen’s works are in the collections of the Saastamoinen Foundation, The Finnish State Art Commission and Finnish Art Society (Art Lottery 2022) as well as several private collections, among others. Hukkanen has been awarded the Young Artist of the Year 2020 by Kuhanen, Asikainen & Kanerva Law Firm.