Henry Grahn Hermunen

Henry Grahn Hermunen (born in Helsinki in 1963) is a contemporary artist living in Stockholm, Sweden and Helsinki, Finland. ^{[1] [2]}

Biography

He studied at The Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki Finland between 1996–2001 and received a Master of Fine Arts. During 1998 -2000 he was a scholar at The Royal Institute of Art - Royal University College of Fine Arts in Stockholm Sweden.

Since the late 1990s, he has created large-scale installations consisting of separate techniques or combinations such as: photography, drawings, sculpture, painting, light and sound. Taking a poetic approach to environmental ecology, he has undertaken socio-political projects nationally and internationally. ^{[3] [4]}

The freedom when creating art, gives chances and excellent possibilities for broader study and discoveries also in sciences such as philosophy, mathematics and physics the artist stated in a text directed to researchers and public. ^{[5] [6]}

In an interview "Art about the beauty in Life", with Ny Tid (Finland) news magazine Henry Grahn Hermunen said: We live in the middle of a worldwide renaissance with global education through the internet. But for example, people work too much to have time to consume what they have. Medias role is crucial - they can obviously make people shrink. Joseph Pulitzer who founded the Pulitzer Prize and who sometimes acted dubiously himself, said a hundred years ago ‘that a cynical, mercenary and demagogic press will eventually create a people who are just as shabby as themselves‘". ^[7]

Henry Grahn Hermunen has exhibited at art venues including Art Forum Berlin, ARCO Madrid and at The Whitechapel Gallery London, as well showing solo exhibitions at Marina Gisich Gallery and at The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Swedish newspaper SvD Svenska Dagbladet wrote: Grahn Hermunen is the first North European Contemporary Artist invited to show his exhibition "Water table in a renaissance garden" in one of the halls of The Hermitage, a Museum considered to be one of the world's foremost Institutions. ^{[8] [9]}

Visiting the exhibition, Marina Chekmareva at the State Hermitage Museum said in an interview to Alexey Sukhorukov from Russia-Culture National TV, "We have been carrying out these combined exhibition - masterclass projects for three years by the most advanced artists not only from Russia but also from abroad." ^[10]

During the exhibition Right Here Right Now at The Helsinki City Art Museum Gallery - Kluuvi, The Finnish artist Erkka N. amazed observed: "It is like entering right into a big abstract painting". Grahn Hermunen reflected: “Of course, this may be satisfactory enough, the unknown, beautifully abstract, but there was and still is a binary, minimalistic precise, and limitless mathematical language there, which I have developed over many years”. ^[5]

At The Tokyo Biennale 2023 exhibiting the Diptyque: Perspective Lyrique Japonaise together with the Swedish poet and author Rikard Larsson-Eng, Henry Grahn Hermunen revealed some essentials about his research and artwork:

“In the early 1990s, Grahn Hermunen evaluated how to explain complex connected structures in the most primary minimalistic way, relating only two symbols, the circle and square. Add movement and spin to these symbols in any directions and they become/are equivalent; at the same time, they are opposite, representing (+) and (-), male and female, body and soul, etc. This binary system might be extended to become a sphere and a cube for example, and further achievable connected dimensions, everything also in movement. An allegory for a possible extensive ‘language’, and ‘mindset’ with no limits.”

Of course, we are shaped through our time and history, and after years of work progressing, Grahn Hermunen recognized the mathematician, philosopher, and scientist Gottfried von Leibniz who worked with the same invention and noticed these factors in the Islamic geometric models as well. And up here in the Nordics wordless communication from ancient grandmothers and fathers appearing in textile, stone ornaments and wood carvings.

Practically and metaphorically, these fundamental binary code components are used in computers as 0 and 1. ^{[3] [6]}

So, his research through art goes in all directions from there: shape of the universe, universe s, space time, particles, life, death, afterlife, consciousness, entanglement, action at a distance, energy, social structures, ecology - politics, and even extrasensory perception - ESP. Some pieces also have a consciously intuitive aspect, that is related to the deep knowledge we all possess within us as (can be seen) in the piece “It is there…in and all around us”. ^[6]

The fine art of Grahn Hermunen are for example in the collections of Moderna Museet the Museum of Modern Art Stockholm Sweden, Pro Artibus Finland, Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum of Contemporary Art Berlin Germany, MoMA - Museum of Modern Art New York USA, Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art St. Petersburg Russia, and the South Karelian Art Museum Finland. ^{[11] [12] [13] [14] [15]}

Henry Grahn Hermunen was invited by Head Curator Larisa Skobkina Golybeva to take part and also curate the North European section to the Celebratory 10th International Dialogues Biennale in Manege -The Main Exhibition Hall of St. Petersburg, Russia 2011. ^{[16] [17]}

The artist is represented by Cath Alexandrine Danneskiold-Samsøe Gallery in Denmark, Marina Gisich Gallery in Russia, and Karin Weber-Galerie Mitte in Germany.

Further reading

• Germany - Parliament of Saxony "Haltungen" Contemporary Photo Exhibition
• Grahn Hermunen at Saatchi Art Top 10 list as No:2 chosen by Rebecca Wilson (curator) chief curator and vice president of Art Advisory at Saatchi Art the world's leading online art gallery, based in Los Angeles ^[ permanent dead link ]
• Henry Grahn Hermunen, authors: Mika Hannula (writer), Power Ekroth, Kari Immonen, ISBN   978-91-633-0767-6
• Amy Cheung (Hong Kong artist), Henry Grahn, Valter Kokot (Today: Ingrid Ung), Erkka Nissinen. Handkerchief Production, ISBN   962-86762-8-8
• FATAL MOMENTS – images of war in Fine Art. Authors: Leena Räty, Anu Talka, Riitta Kormano, Maija Tanninen-Mattila, Jan Kaila, Marja Ruta, Ismo Kajander, Henry Grahn Hermunen. South Karelia Art Museum, Lappeenranta Finland. ISBN   978-951-785-100-8
• Sebastian Cichocki; Andrzej Szczerski; Joanna Warsza; et al. (2007). Manual CC: Instructions for Beginners and Advanced Players (PDF). Bytom, Poland: Kronika. ISBN   978-83-920614-6-2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
• "Sense and sensibility" ISBN   978-91-980437-0-9, "Fabulous" ISBN   978-91-633-6838-7. Authors: Karin Perers - Kenneth Linder, The VERKET Museum, Avesta Sweden.
• Avesta Art Biennale/Annuale, several hundred thousand visitors have seen the exhibitions. With all right, the ambitions are high and match the quality, this year the organizers have attracted names like Roy Andersson, Henry Grahn Hermunen, Eric Dyer and Hanna Beling. DT - Cecilia Ekebjär, 3 June 2011 Sweden.
• According to several critics this is maybe the best Avesta Art Biennale/Annuale since the start in 1995. Kerstin Eriksson 14 June 2012 for DD - Dala Demokraten Newspaper, Sweden.
• SR-Swedish Radio Interview, Art does good - Hold that thought exhibition, Kirsi Blomberg 8 Nov 2011
• TS-Turun Sanomat-Newspaper, An international selection in The Ars Nova Museum-Kansainvälinen valikoima Ars Nova -museossa, Jyrki Vuori Turku Finland 18.3.2005.
• Kuvas 4. Editors: Vesa Vehviläinen, Tiina Mielonen. Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki Finland, ISSN 1238-8009
• Helsingin Sanomat-Newspaper, The Singing Summerian Installation, Marja-Terttu Kivirinta, 21 May 2001 Finland.
• YLE 1 Radio program Qualitymarkt, Interview about The Singing Summerian Installation, Jonni Roos, 28.5.2001, Finland.

References

1. Moderna Museet in Stockholm Sweden, one of Europe’s leading museums for modern and contemporary art. "Artist and Works - Henry Grahn Hermunen - Moderna Museet".
2. Yaremenko-Tolstoy, V. (“Moy-Moy”). Autobiographical novel about a heartbreaking drama and the wild Bohemian scene in St. Petersburg at the turn of the millennium. Featuring Tanechka Eltsova and also the Siberia expedition with Henry Grahn and Walter Kokot [Мой-мой] (in Russian). Limbus Press. pp. “88-89”, chapter 47. ISBN   9785837000065.
3. Tokyo Biennale. "Henry Grahn Hermunen and Rikard Larsson-Eng - Oshibori Linkage Tokyo Biennale".
4. Västra Nyland newspaper "Fine art as an opening for political debate" Camilla Lindberg, 14 June 2008, Finland.
5. 1 2 The Nordic Museum – Nordiska Museet, Stockholm, Sweden - Henry Grahn Hermunen. "Minnen".
6. Stockholms Läns Museum - Stockholm County Museum, Sweden. H. Grahn Hermunen. "It is there… in and all around us. Part II".
7. Ny Tid Journal "Art about beauty in life" Angela Oker-Blom, No.32, 14.8. 2008 Helsinki Finland.
8. "The Ministry for Foreign Affairs Sweden". Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
9. SvD Svenska Dagbladet "Hermunen på Eremitaget" Stockholm 6 June 2007 TT Spektra Sweden
10. Russia-Culture National TV Alexey Sukhorukov visiting the exhibition of Henry Grahn Hermunen "Water table in a renaissance garden"
11. "Moderna Museet - Collection".
12. "Samlingen Archive".
13. "Staatliche Museen zu Berlin: Home". Archived from the original on 15 December 2013.
14. "About us | MoMA".
15. "Collection".
16. St. Petersburg Newspaper - SpbVedomosti, Vadim Mikhailov Nr. 160, 29 August 2011, St. Petersburg Russia, in 2011.
17. St. Petersburg newspaper - SpbVedomosti "Henry Grahn Hermunen´s artwork is one of the best parts of the biennale" Vadim Mikhailov Nr. 160, 29 August 2011, St. Petersburg Russia.

External links

• Official website of the artist
• Official website