During the last years there has developed a need for artists of applied art to explicate their work and sources. It seems that justifying and understanding of the existence of artwork needs continuously more complicated reasons and definitions. Acknowledged qualities of traditional applied art like knowing the material, aesthetics and handicraft skills are considered to be too common and too easy solutions in today’s art world.

In this context Kimmo Heikkilä and Risto Hämälainen are old school men. Their works do not have fine philosophy and sophisticated words for background. Their a bit “twisted” works, as they call them, are continuing Finnish applied art traditions which appreciate experimenting with materials, exploring the form, quality of work and reflections of nature.

Risto Hämäläinen – ice, stone, fire Exhibition in the Gallery Daugava shows Risto Hämäläinen’s creation during the last three years. The artist has never before showed his porcelain objects in such volume at a time. The artist has studied porcelain and its different techniques during his travels to China. The form of his work has still kept the northern crispness, expressing emotions inspired from Finnish nature and North-Norwegian quarries.

Kimmo Heikkilä – new technology in handicraft Is computer based design also handicraft/applied art? It is if we ask from Kimmo Heikkilä. Computer does not design any work, they born from cooperation of makers’ brain and hand. Jewelry and objects displayed in the Hop-gallery are designed with computer and preprocessed with laser-cut and 3D-milling machine. The artists aim is to create works which would be impossible or would take too much time and work to perform with traditional handicraft techniques and tools.

Black and white and… When „Finnish boys” Hämäläinen and Heikkilä started to work with their first joint exhibition, their work was titled as „Black and White“. Initial idea was to show Kimmo’s black jewelry and Risto’s white porcelain objects. But as it often happens, work as it develops, takes the artist with it and the initial essence changes among the process. Now the exposition has a bit additional color and this is also the reason why the title was amended with the word – and… Nevertheless, the final result is not exactly revelry of colors. We can still experience the game of light and shadows.