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LaharyWriter, Fine Art Photographer, Film/Video and Pastels / [email protected]

Johanna Sonninen

Auction & Exhibition ~Fall Edition/2011~ Page -2-

FEATURED ARTIST:

JOHANNA SONNINEN

Johanna Sonninen is a Helsinki, Finland artist that is proficient in drawing, metalwork

and jewelery. She has traveled extensively & is multi-lingual. Her focus is her unique

style of drawing. I became aware of her work through Twitter and can attest that

Johanna is a cutting edge artisan whose work defies boundaries. It is my pleasure to

introduce her to an American audience here in

Auction & Exhibition.

A&E:Although you are a university graduate, you still consider yourself

self taught. Why is that so?

JS:Actually I have studied art in school only for 3yrs. A strong need to

be a craftsman comes to me as a blood legacy and I have drawn as long

as I can remember. For me, it has never been unclear what I want to do

for a living or with my life. Creating has always been a part my life.

When I say self taught I also mean that my learning process will never

end, I have so much to learn and Im very exited about it !

A&E: Ive been repetitively consumed with your drawings for some

months now, but in all fairness you also do metalwork and jewelry. How

do you approach editing your time between mediums-and is it fair to say

that you are most pre-occupied with your drawings?

JS:Yes right now Im most preoccupied by my drawings. At the moment I dont own a suitable work

space where I could work with metal, so that side is not so busy as I would like it to be.

A&E:When I first saw your work I was initially most taken by your drawings of Levis from your series

The Philosophy of Denim Jeans. Considering how much you love the sensory quality of jeans, what

technical constructs (if any) help you facilitate the clean, sparse, realism you achieve?

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4th_Philosophy of Denim Jeans

JS: I drew that series by using models who posed for me in those postures. I searched with lights for the

right mood and then I drew what I saw.

A&E: Its quite common for artists to explore a multitude of materials, substances & papers..and usually

adopt recognizable identities and preferences around them. Artists make drawings from interesting paper

choices and mediums..so when I heard you were making drawings by utilizing User manual ink on

paper I thought that was pretty unique. Tell us about it..

JS:Actually User manual is just one drawing for now. Making drawings by utilizing user manual ink on

paper, now that is a good idea!

A&E: I read that you were on exhibition at Parallax AF International London from 10/21-10/23. What

kind of venue is that designed to be, and what works did you show there?

JS: Parallax AF in London was an art fair. I showed 3 works there from The Soliloquy series

..Welcome, The green eyed man, and

Thank you, do come again!.

A&E: In reading your website I was thoroughly intrigued with your comments about masochism, and

the beautiful, mature, powerful woman that seemed to tell you Youre a masochist if you care about

me?. You went on to discuss how pain was necessary for growth-And that, seemingly, one can even

need a number of partners to know who is best suited. I felt there was a lot of emotional truth in

that..which leads me to ask if you think masochism, or pain and pleasure, is more due to conscious

willingness, or because of external subjection?Follow


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JS: Masochism in me which I passionately love is a series of very important work to me. Through it I

examine all those experiences I have had this far concerning relationships and feelings. When I tell about

that person and about her words Youre a masochist if you care about me? Im revealing my one real life

situation when I realized my own growth from sentimental to a realist. I personally believe that in

emotional matters we often make subconscious choices which we are unable to influence in a

consciousness level before we are aware of this.

A&E:As you know, I was a swordsman at one time and we both have practiced the art. But once I

learned that you work in metals, and gazed on the silver and black Flintlock pistol you made-I was totally

impressed. Your workmanship is intensely ornate and labored. The quality reminded me of the old film

where Alan Ladd plays Jim Bowie, who found a meteorite and had a blacksmith forge it into the mythic

Bowie Knife..which he used to defeat a guy that had a sword. What inspired you to make such a pistol-

and what were the demands and technical complications?

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Gun (Flintlock), metal-work, by Johanna Sonninen

JS: It is my thesis which through I graduated from that 3yrs. Art and Crafts school. As a history / war

history addict the idea came to me from there and in Flintlock pistol I was able to push my own

craftsmanship to the extreme. Making that thesis there were very strict rules of how it must be done and

yes I did choose a suicide project because of the fact that you were not allowed to ask any guidance from

anyone. So I did face technical complications every day and I even had moments when I didnt have a clue

how to proceed next.

A&E: Guns, artillery and military zones are repeating imagery on your site. But your color drawing,

Trust_me_nro.51266 leaves no doubtFollow


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stunning abstract image where a very groomed young man has what seems to be a 38 revolver as a kind of

appendage. The beauty of the abstraction is heightened by how you formed pools of reflections as lines.

Were you in a day dream when you conceived Trust_me_nro.51266 ?

Trust_me_nro.51266, drawing, Johanna Sonninen

JS: That work is part of the series Masochism in me which I passionately love and the idea just came

to mind while doing the other drawings.

A&E:You seem to have a constant paper size of 11 3/4 x 16 1/2. In the Winter edition of Auction &

Exhibition I interviewed another European drawing artist from Stockholm and she also always seems to

work small as well. Is that a trend among illustration artists across Europe-or something derived from art

school regimens there?

JS: I have used that size because of habit or when a client has requested it.

A&E:When looking at your drawing of cellist Carol Thorns, one could conclude it is simultaneously

both grayscale & a color image at the same time. Do you enjoy one more than the other when it comes

to drawing in black & white or color?

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Carol Thorns, drawing, Johanna Sonninen

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JS: No I enjoy both equally. Colours or not it is purely dictated by the subject and custom work for the

client.

A&E:You mentioned that your black & white drawing Obdach represents your newest direction. That

particular image is a really rich, fluid metropolis. It reminds me of the black scratch blocks of masonite

that Eyvind Earle (Sleeping Beauty/Walt Disney) would cut white negative space into to create a picture.

Tell us about your new direction..

Obdach, drawing, Johanna Sonninen

JS: Obdach represents my new direction as a subject. I want to go deeper and express myself to the

fullest, without any kind of embellishment.

Johanna can be contacted for more information, or custom works, via her website

at: http://www.wix.com/johannasonnine2/jms

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