Arno Rafael Minkkinen: Homecoming

Internationally acclaimed Finnish-American photographic artist and professor of photography Arno Rafael Minkkinen is especially known for his works depicting his own nude body in various natural landscapes. His oeuvre stands as one of the longest, non-stop bodies of work in the self-portrait genre. From his first works in the early 1970s to today, the pictures have always been different, and yet maintain the same timelessness and distinctive aesthetic signature.

The Homecoming exhibition explores themes of water, earth, and sky — the three vertical layers of life through which Minkkinen’s imagination and photographs have navigated throughout his career. He has interwoven his three pursuits throughout his life as a Finnish-American artist, essayist/curator, and educator for more than five decades.

Minkkinen’s techniques predate the use of Photoshop by decades. The Image would correspond exactly with the reality before the lens. He relies on simple means like his first cable release that signaled the self-timer to fire nine-seconds later. He sets up and shoots the image as solo act. Because no one looks inside the viewfinder as the picture is taken— not even Minkkinen, the photographer—every image becomes a surprise waiting to be discovered.

“Trusting luck to hold out, there would be no end in sight to what could be possible. Art is risk made visible. Courage is fear made invisible. I seek to be able to manifest these principles into my working practice. Surely then would the heart and soul of my undertaking be made visible to audiences worldwide.” – Arno Rafael Minkkinen

Minkkinen’s work has previously been exhibited in Kuopio at the VB Gallery in 1986 and at the VB Photographic Centre in 1999. Now, he returns with this exhibition in celebration of the City of Kuopio’s 250th anniversary. The exhibition is produced in collaboration with the Versicherungskammer Kulturstiftung in Munich and supported by the Finnish Heritage Agency.