Painter

Matti Lampi

"Matti Lampi, a painter from Liminka, twists tradition cunningly to make it his own. He paints barns and country surroundings with stunning precision and with a thin line of paint. In some paintings you can see the full moon, which is influenced by Vionoja's style. Lampi also does meticulous arrangements of glass.

We are almost at the brink of the tradition of re-using, but Lampi does everything more wisely and makes the traditional into something new. He can merge the landscape and the setting so that the tablecloth that is behind the pelargonium changes into a snow cover in the landscape. The end result is a two layered "Lapsuudenmuisto" (Memory of a childhood).

Even in the mere arrangements there are conflicts to be seen. All of a sudden within the picture there is a hand grenade, lots of broken glass, or at least a knife. Violence is present even in the most tranquil of moods.

With his slight exaggeration of style, Lampi can bring simple buildings life and meaning. Small huts become personified as negotiators, and Italian buildings are more Italian than it is possible to be, even in Italy. Lampi attains the right feeling by utilising a slight exaggeration of the painting tradition.

Lampi draws, with his sovereign expressionless technique, many buckets of fresh blood from a worn out style."

Pessi Rautio, Helsingin Sanomat 24.2.2000