Keys Open Doors
2013
Solo exhibition, SIC, Helsinki
The exhibition Keys Open Doors shows recent paintings by Timo Vaittinen. The works infused with psychedelic visual tradition transcend narrative realities, and blend with abstract painting traditions and pop culture phenomena. The imagery in the paintings seems to be in constant motion; colors and shapes pulsate simultaneously in multiple directions and details convey stories of their own. Through the symbolic and allegorical meanings the works provide a glimpse into the subjective expression outside linguistic concepts.
Unlike Vaittinen’s previous works composed of collage elements, the new works have been created with acrylic and alkyd paint, and ink. Gone is the shiny epoxy resin surface distancing from the materiality of the painting. The new paintings bring close the painting process that emphasizes and examines the material qualities of colors. The declaratory, yet ambiguous name of the exhibition can be understood to express the inherent and formal keys and the doors that they open, which have been found during the work process.
