Laura Laine: Nature Morte
Laura Laine, presents “Naure Morte”, a solo show of glass works at Suomen Lasimuseo, the Finnish Glass Museum. This is Laine’s largest exhibition to-date, featuring glass works made over the past decade, since she began working in this medium. The exhibition is on view through September 29th.
Helsinki-based artist Laura Laine blends elements of surrealism, fantasy, fashion and art history into her elaborate and intricate illustrations. Collaborating frequently with the fashion world, but also exhibiting in the art world, her work transports into another realm. About a decade ago, she began to transform her ideas into glass, bringing with her the fluid, wildly fantastical creative imagination that she has in her drawings into this delicate medium. Earlier this spring, she opened “Nature Morte”, an exhibition highlighting her work in glass for 10-years, at the Finnish Glass Museum, with many new works inspired by Dutch still-life and vanitas paintings.
TLmag: Would you talk a bit about your solo exhibition at the Finnish Glass Museum? It includes some new work, related to the vanitas theme, as well as previous works, including some from your Subtle Bodies collection?
Laura Laine: The exhibition features a selection of works from the past decade, starting from the beginning of my practice with glass in 2014, through to today. The theme behind the new work is the golden age of the Dutch and Flemish still-life painting – vanitas is only a small part of it. However, it seemed that the older works could also fit under the still-life theme as well, hence the title of the show “Nature Morte”.
TLmag: Is this your first museum exhibition to show your glass works?
L.L.: It’s actually my second solo museum exhibition, and my third museum show in total. I have participated in a group show at the Dutch National Glass Museum, and my first solo show was at the Helsinki Design Museum. However, this current one is the first at this scale, with an exhibition space of about 500 square meters.
TLmag: Tell is about why you are drawn to the vanitas and still life theme? What made you want to create new glass objects inspired by this tradition?
L.L.: The Dutch Golden Age of still life paintings are often regarded in our time as just lavish displays of wealth and an access to rare and exclusive things. The works are seen as superficial shows of artistic tricks lacking any deeper meaning, and on the other hand the still-life sub-genre vanitas is often seen only through its characteristic symbolism. The works were often commissioned and there was a general trend of showing off – skill-wise for the artist and possession-wise for the client. However, I find it interesting how, despite the aim to depict the objects in a desirable and beautiful manner, they might become something a little grotesque and even repulsive. Especially the depictions of disembowelled game or piles of meats, which did not look attractive at all in the way they were probably meant to. Occasionally you can also see other food items or even books acquire strange, almost fleshy features. Another interesting aspect is how the artist’s intense aim to create such a realistic trompé-l’oeil depiction that covers with equal attention the entire surface of the painting gives it a very surreal quality rather than realistic. Also, the compositions are sometimes surreal and have some kind of accidental beauty to them; when an ambitious attempt of a composition in space doesn’t really succeed, the objects in the painting seem as if they’re suddenly hanging in the air. In general, I’m interested in the point where something that’s meant to be beautiful or desirable changes into something repulsive, or vice versa when something generally regarded as disgusting begins to be beautiful.
TLmag: Could you talk a bit about the use of colour in glass for these works?
L.L.: I wanted to use a lot of different colours, and use both opaque and clear. I was aiming for a richness in both shape and colour in these new works. In some pieces I wanted a very maximalist look, so I’ve also used silvering to achieve gold and pearlescent effects.
TLmag: Are there drawings in the show as well?
L.L.: I always sketch as I plan for the sculptures, but this time I made eight drawings that are part of the exhibition as equal artworks with the sculptures.
TLmag: Did you work in collaboration with the Czech Glass studio Novy Bor, as you have done with your 2019 exhibition, Subtle Bodies, at Spazio Nobile?
L.L.: All the new work is made in Nuutajärvi, Finland. But I had Emil Kovac of Novy Bor, fly to Finland and I asked another glassblower from Holland, Josja Schepman to come as well. I decided to work here for logistical reasons, and also because I have a small child.
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