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The bird sings the landscape is part of the Unen Omainen exhibition series and forms part of the programme celebrating my 50th anniversary as an artist.
When I was planning my 50th anniversary exhibition, the theme that emerged was memory and remembering. I explored these themes from different perspectives in my earlier works in two museum exhibitions in the 1990s. Now, years later, I wanted to return to this subject as seen and experienced by my older self. What kinds of visual memories rise from within me? For me, memories are multisensory: scents, light, sounds, touch… Memories can be deeply restorative.
During the working process, I return to a small moment experienced long ago, and the memory takes on a visual form.
Words and sentences have long been an essential part of my artistic practice; I write them down, attach them to the walls of my studio, and sometimes also add them to my paintings by sewing.
the water breathes slowly
the bird sings the landscape
in my house a tree grows
to the fish I tell everything
autumn walks against the wind
the sky flows through the mountain
I am my mother’s flowerbed…
About the artist:
Arja Valkonen-Goldblatt (b. 1950, Kuopio) has worked as a full-time visual artist since 1975, using a wide range of techniques including painting, installations, artist’s books, and most recently ceramics. She has held numerous solo exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions in Finland and abroad. Valkonen-Goldblatt lives in Turku. In 2016, she was awarded an extra state artist’s pension.