Sami Korkiakoski is a Finnish contemporary artist (born 1978 in Eskilstuna, Sweden). He received an MA from the University of Art and Design Helsinki (2007) and an MFA from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki (2013). Sami has had tens of solo exhibitions all around Finland (e.g. in Jyväskylä and Salo Art Museum) and several shows abroad, e.g. in New York, Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale (USA), Tel Aviv (Israel) and Brisbane (Australia). His works can be found in the collections of the Sara Hildén Art Museum, the Finnish State, the Wäinö Aaltonen Art Museum and the Kuopio Art Museum, among others, as well as in numerous private collections around the world.
How did you get into art?
I was really interested in drawing and painting as a little boy. I noticed that making pictures gives me experiences of success and a good mood. I remember when my older brother and I organized drawing competitions about who could draw the nicest car. As an older child, I received praise from people around me and did well in art competitions organized for children.
In my teenage years, my interest in making pictures grew even more. I could paint at night secretly from my mother and I went to school with little sleep. During my art studies at university, I lived art. I realized that painting was my way of being. It was the most important channel of emotional expression in my life. The same has continued until today.
How would you describe your style? What makes your work special?
My style is a combination of drawing and painting. For a long time, I made paintings where line and rhythm played the main role. The works could be just a black line, the mind's subconscious description of existence. Now I've started to enjoy the color more as well. I study color juxtapositions and may search for the right color combinations through numerous layers.
In my works, I describe feelings with abstract means. My painting is very physical and I use my whole body. I paint with my much worse left hand to avoid being too controlling. I strive for works that look like they were made on the spur of the moment and quickly. In reality, however, my works are often the results of a long struggle.
In my paintings, there are references to presentability, often through the means of sign language. I describe the relationship between strong and sensitive emotions and combine naive and violent elements and use them to describe the diversity of being a human being. I strive to create stories with a surprising element. I call my latest paintings "naive expressions".
How do you go about developing your work?
My painting is about playing and constantly experimenting with materials and different ways of expression. My work develops through searching, mistakes, failures and coincidences that are part of the process. New thoughts and ideas are almost always born from an accident, which I seize and elevate to the main role. I am always looking for new and new ways to express my surroundings and my inner world.
Who or what influences you?
At the moment, I am influenced by music with its colors and rhythms, African art, children's coloring books and, in any case, the genuine, honest art of children and contemporary artists, where the presence has come from the heart and is not too enterprising. I love traces that have come as if by accident, accompanied by some greater feeling.
Make us curious. What are you planning to do next?
In the near future, I plan to announce my new painting series called "Woman and Blocks". My series of works is almost finished, but I haven't announced it on social media yet. I am going to announce my new, slightly different series of works in my next exhibition.
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