Ville Kylätasku
Ville Kylätasku was born in Tampere, Finland. Studied design in Lahti University of Applied Sciences (BFA) and Painting (BFA) in Free Art School, Helsinki. After studies he moved to Berlin to fulfil his dream with his family of 2 daughters. He has been having international solo- and group exhibitions since 2012 and his works are in Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Kuntsi Modern Museum of Vaasa, Hort Collection, NY and numerous other private collections around the world. He works and lives in Berlin, Germany.
In his work Ville Kylätasku has turned the attention to the inner and intimate aspects of humanity. Spirit and matter, consciousness and body, thinking and experience, self and otherness, desire and object of desire, presence and absence, visible and invisible - these and many other pairs of opposites that define life meet each other in the forms and contents of Kylätasku's works. At the center of Kylätasku's art is human and humanity. In the work, eternal perennial questions related to existence are based on human concepts and questioning.
Could you tell us more about your background and how you began creating art?
I have spent my entire life on different creative fields. Being a creative creature in a creative field has been my tool to finding myself. When I was young I was in circus, aerial acrobatics because of my gymnastic background. I also danced classical ballet until 18 years old. After high school I enrolled to study design in University. During the studies I realised that I must continue to fine art and painting because everything else would be a compromise of my lust for expression. It was a process of self realisation and step by step I found myself studying painting. I graduated and moved from Helsinki for Berlin to pursue my dreams to become a full-day painter, which I did. Now I’ve been full-time artist a bit over 10 years.
What does your art aim to say to its viewers?
My work is driven by a deep curiosity and desire to explore the complexities of the world around us. In times when society’s attention is focused on the external and chaotic world, my art turns attention to the inner and intimate aspects of humanity, while also addressing important social and cultural issues. In my production, eternal, perennial questions are based on metaphysical and human concepts and questioning. Spirit and matter, consciousness and body, thinking and experience, ego and otherness, desire and object of desire, presence and absence, visible and invisible - these and many other life-defining opposites meet each other in the forms and contents of the works.
Can you tell us about the process of creating your work? What is your daily routine when working?
My only aim for creating art is to try to be present. We humans have a tendency to try to be in control. This is how our minds were evolved because constant threats from the nature and I believe this survival mode has driven human being very one sided, out of balance, or out of touch from itself. I aim to stay out of the way, reach to my highest self and letting ideas to flow downwards, only curating the flow during the process a bit. When I ́m not painting, I collect visual data to my iPhone, while during the night I do some planning with Photoshop. Days tend to run long, around 10-19 in the studio.
Now is the only thing that’s real. Everything else is just meaningless.
What is the essential element in your art?
What is essential in my art is that my way of confronting grand themes and intense human experiences are not papery or pretentious. I think in my art and through my art in ways that do not petrify into symbolism or flatten into clichés but take on a vivid and sensual form that offers viewers the chance to enter affirmative qualities and passions of life.
In your opinion, what role does the artist have in society?
My paintings are a mixture of the past and the future: a nostalgist looking to the future, a guardian of tradition exploring the present life. This point go view has made me a interpreter of the human predicament. One particular area of interest for me has been possibilities and challenges of today’s avant-garde and melioristic thought in the so-called “postmodern” condition and “metamodern” society. I personally consider being on service for society.
