
Viljo Pertola (b. 1997) is an artist from Turku. He is a member of Taidekeskus Into ry and works at the association’s art center TaidePompo. Visual artist Eija Ruoho and sculptor Sinikka Mäki-Lertola have been his mentors since 2020. In his subjects, Viljo Pertola dives into history, different cultures and the diverse imagery of our time. At the same time, he pursues the present. Tertiary spiders and the artist’s hands weave the web of the picture. The stories intertwine with the details of the family picture painted with a sharp wooden stick.
About the magical realism of the work Adoptioperheemme (Our adoption family, 2023), Pertola says: The snake in the picture, the Eastern Indigosnake, lives in the United States. The snake is non-venomous. The snake receives the chicks of the bird whose parents are unknown. A classic sofa respects old traditions.” Bandura, the national instrument of Ukraine, is placed on the couch.
The images in the works are abundant and they combine drawing, painted surfaces, parts of product packaging and cartoons and text cut from magazines. The juxtapositions of the text and the image are insightfully humorous. The combination of borrowed images and his own expression reveals Pertola’s personality: as an artist, he is a skilled, benevolent and uncompromising esthetician.
Most of the works are imaginative collages made with mixed media. Although the works depict landscapes and interiors, the overall effect of the composition is flat and layered. The works are like palimpsests: ancient recycled scrolls, on which layers from different times have been written on top of each other. In a palimpsest, the time levels mix with each other, as, for example, in bulletin boards that have a life of their own. In the same way, Pertola’s works have ragged layers, some of the paintings are done in the same way, revealing and hiding.
Pertola has taken it upon himself to take care of all the things that people abandon and throw away. From all these collected “specials”, which are rarely seen, he comes up with ideas for his works. Even the colours used in the works are remnants of painting palettes used by others.
Pertola’s expression has japonism, i.e. influences and admiration of Japanese style. The landscape photography, the composition, the flattened spatial impression and the ethereal trace of drawing bring to mind the light Japanese woodcut and scroll painting tradition. Some works have a combination of manga-like characters and the color scheme mixes more traditional broken color harmonies and pure pastel shades. The works are beautified by a certain kind of modest subtlety.
Viljo Pertola
Art Studio: Into Art Centre
What does art mean to you?
– It means a lot. A lot, oh, how can I describe it… A lot, it’s everything.
What does it mean to you that your works are exhibited in exhibitions?
– It surprisingly means that the works have reached people’s eyes.
What might happen if you hear that they are good?
– That my work is seen, it’s touching. I hope to become an artist who paints, molds clay and builds art for people to enjoy.
Artworks
CV
b. 1997
Contact the artist: taidekeskusinto@gmail.com
Studies
2017-2020 Vocational qualification in visual expression, Kaarisilta
2016-2017 Preparatory studies in visual expression, Kaarisilta
2014-2016 Art studies as a student of Eija Ruoho
Artistic work
2020- TaideKeskus Into ry’s TaidePompo
2020- Sculptor Sinikka Mäki-Lertola and visual artist Eija Ruoho as mentors
Private exhibitions
2023-2024 Bandura, Aboa Vetus Ars Nova, Turku
Joint exhibitions
2023 Saari manor artists-in-residence exhibition, Art Kaarisilta gallery, Helsinki
2021-2022 Örö is the place of darkness, Örö’s fortress island
2021 Kaarisilta Biennale, Lahti
2021 Getafu*ck*inglife, B-galleria, Turku
2020 Youth exhibition, Amos Rex art museum, Helsinki
2019 Taidekeskus Into 10th anniversary exhibition, Brinkkala gallery, Turku
2019 Taidekeskus Into joint exhibition, KTO Varsinais-Suomen Erityishuoltopiiri municipal association, Paimio
2018 Watching in the jungle, joint exhibition of Art Center Into ry, Art Kaarisilta gallery, Helsinki
2017 Kaarisilta Biennale, Helsinki
2015 Particularly expressive art, Kristillinen opisto, Turku
Community artworks
2016-2019 Participant in the Art Center Into jazz-themed community artwork
The community artwork has been exhibited:
2019 Alternative music and art festival ILMIÖ, Turku
2019 Night of the Arts Föri, Turku
2017 Miracle and Strange, Salo
2016 Into Banderols community artwork, shopping center Puuvilla, Pori
Works in collections
The collections of Taidekeskus Into ry
Awards
2017 Kaarisilta Biennale Award