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Friends of Janne Räisänen Unite!
I first met Janne Räisänen (1971) when I, thoroughly sozzled, went up to praise his first exhibition, something that could have
well been done completely sober, too. This was sometime in the mid-90's, and we are friends still. During this time, Räisänen's
paintings have gone through some severe changes, but they appeal to me still in the same fascinating way, which is not unlike
infatuation. Janne's paintings are funny, smart and undeniably sexy. Their appeal is based on their charming openness and
manifold appearances.Räisänen describes friendship in the following words: "I like the idea of having friends around,
at home and elsewhere. Minna (Janne's partner) is an important figure and my best friend. I get a lot of influence
from my charismatic friends (both directly and indirectly). Friends are the best that there can be."
Räisänen is a maker of dense works, because his paintings are ripe with meaning. For instance, I Enjoy My Minimal (2006)
refers, according to Räisänen, to a particular brand of electronic music, minimal techno, but it can also be read as an
ironic statement on the abundant cornucopia of Räisänen's own painting. His works are instantly recognizable, but what
this is based on, is a little trickier to recognise. Basically he is a descendant of the expressive tradition and in
particular the style known as bad painting, of which the most prominent names are David Salle, Jean-Michel Basquiat
and Julian Schnabel, who mixed high and low culture in their art, with varying bad and good taste.
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© 2014 Janne Räisänen
I first met Janne Räisänen (1971) when I, thoroughly sozzled, went up to praise his first exhibition, something that could have well been done completely sober, too. This was sometime in the mid-90's, and we are friends still. During this time, Räisänen's paintings have gone through some severe changes, but they appeal to me still in the same fascinating way, which is not unlike infatuation. Janne's paintings are funny, smart and undeniably sexy. Their appeal is based on their charming openness and manifold appearances.Räisänen describes friendship in the following words: "I like the idea of having friends around, at home and elsewhere. Minna (Janne's partner) is an important figure and my best friend. I get a lot of influence from my charismatic friends (both directly and indirectly). Friends are the best that there can be."
Räisänen is a maker of dense works, because his paintings are ripe with meaning. For instance, I Enjoy My Minimal (2006) refers, according to Räisänen, to a particular brand of electronic music, minimal techno, but it can also be read as an ironic statement on the abundant cornucopia of Räisänen's own painting. His works are instantly recognizable, but what this is based on, is a little trickier to recognise. Basically he is a descendant of the expressive tradition and in particular the style known as bad painting, of which the most prominent names are David Salle, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Julian Schnabel, who mixed high and low culture in their art, with varying bad and good taste.
Read more››