Maritta Tapanainen
A nest has a certain chemistry — an alchemy, almost. From humble parts, a greater sum emerges and coheres. * The collages in this exhibition “Insignificance” pulse with a quiet insistence, hum with repetition and reveal an introverted sensibility. Of nothing from nothing. Imbued with dichotomies of excess and reduction, accumulation versus disintegration, energized yet serene these intimate constructions invite close, meditative observation. In seeking departure toward a new direction, I gravitated to inscrutable, minute oddments, orphaned bits - the insignificant residue of clippings scattered on my table. Sometimes it is the least obvious which presents the way forward. With these collages meticulously working the additive process, a greater sum emerged. These “nests” evolved from in essence nothing — all and nothing — maximizing the infinitesimally minimal. Selections are made with a practiced eye — finding inspiration in idiosyncratic marks with semblance to the drawn line: notations, filaments, dots, dashes. I began acquiring old, discarded volumes long before discovering their wondrous potential attracted by their visual eccentricities, by the warmth of the patina, and the fragility of this arcane printed matter, its evocative obsolescence. These qualities resonate another age — an authenticity — that I desire to preserve and channel.
*Why Birds Are the World’s Best Engineers” | Siobhan Roberts | New York Times March 17, 2020