The recently opened Trygve Lie Gallery on East 52nd Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues, offers a new venue for the continuing art exhibits presented by the American Scandinavian Society of New York. Under the leadership of Elfi von Kantzow Alvin, the Society’s very active Art Committee has through the past three decades presented the work of well over 250 young Nordic artists to New York art lovers. Featuring the work of four talented young Finns, the upcoming “TAIDE • Fresh Views of Finnish Art” opens on February 23 and will run through March 26, 2006.

“TAIDE • FRESH VIEWS OF FINNISH ART”
Curators: Elfi von Kantzow Alvin / Tarja Silverman • A.S.S.
February 23 through March 26, 2006

See webgallery of the exhibition

You are cordially invited to attend a special opening reception to be given by the Consulate General of Finland,
Thursday, February 23, 6 to 8 p.m.

	MARIKA HOLM, born in Siuntio, Finland. For this artist, her paintings seek to reflect both life and her work as an act of passage. She uses color to communicate spiritual states. The paintings have a powerful presence, emotionally intimate and vulnerable. Her technique results in works that seem as if they are lit from within. Following a route of metaphysical exploration, she has come to be fascinated by mythical beings. This strong identification has led to a new phase in terms of expressing herself with bold, explosive use of color. Visit her website
	JUHA METSO. Among the very few Finnish professional photographers who have managed to effectively maintain a career consisting of both hectic daily newspaper work and high-profile artistic output, recently chosen Photographer of the Year Juha Metso has enjoyed many successful exhibitions in his native Finland as well as abroad. His much-awarded work hangs in many galleries and private collections. His colleagues have included him in innumerable group exhibitions. Visit his website
	TOPI RUOTSALAINEN. How society today portrays men and a man’s identity, whether in photos, fashion, art or action figures, has been a matter of fascination for this artist. Interpreting the status and manifestation of contemporary manhood, very diverse individual figures are placed in a group or a crowd, which also shows them in the context of community or their separateness from others. The arrangements of these many figures are done deftly to create a captivating balance drawing the viewer into each setting. Visit his website
	ELINA SARLIN speaks of the art of painting as an attempt to grasp the momentary, capturing life’s fleeting indicators. Such as a passing look, thought or sigh. Capturing how they wordlessly express a changing or transitional state. By using very refined colors, her dream-like shapes and figures seem to move and drift weightlessly, moving from a concrete image to an ephemeral state.

Notes by Rolf Kristian Stang.