Royal College of Art

Portfolio of Practice

Jukka Virkkunen

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The studio is an arena.

Painting is physical.

I work with un-stretched canvases that are larger than my physical self or the arena I make paintings in. Twisting and folding the canvas leaves marks of this process on the painting. The manipulation of material is evident on the surface of the finished work.

Twin Poles on Green (Stealth) Triptych714cm x 238cmSpray paint on Soviet Military Surplus2020At the Hockney Gallery, Royal College of Art, London, UK — Twin Poles on Green (Stealth) Triptych
714cm x 238cm
Spray paint on Soviet Military Surplus
2020
At the Hockney Gallery, Royal College of Art, London, UK

The history of the material is as important as the colours chosen and the surfaces produced. All matter has inherent meaning in its essence. I respect how each material behaves and wants to exist within a painting. I pair paints that offer a juxtaposition of immediate and sedative techniques–like those deployed with oil and then spray-paint. These moves create an atmosphere that reveals itself over time.

Twin Poles on Green (Stealth) Triptych714cm x 238cmSpray paint on Soviet Military Surplus2020 — Twin Poles on Green (Stealth) Triptych
714cm x 238cm
Spray paint on Soviet Military Surplus
2020

Spectral (Rectangle I)70cm x 80cmSpray paint, acrylic paint & debris from the studio on canvas2019 — Spectral (Rectangle I)
70cm x 80cm
Spray paint, acrylic paint & debris from the studio on canvas
2019

Spectral (Rectangle II)70cm x 80cmSpray paint, acrylic paint & debris from the studio on canvas2019 — Spectral (Rectangle II)
70cm x 80cm
Spray paint, acrylic paint & debris from the studio on canvas
2019

The physicality of the gesture must be evident.

Dipond Grid 4X7120cm x 210cmSpray paint, industrial ink, glossy house paint on aluminum2020 — Dipond Grid 4X7
120cm x 210cm
Spray paint, industrial ink, glossy house paint on aluminum
2020

Dipond Grid 1X930cm x 270cmSpray paint, industrial ink and glossy house paint on aluminum2020 — Dipond Grid 1X9
30cm x 270cm
Spray paint, industrial ink and glossy house paint on aluminum
2020

Cloth I/01 & Cloth I/02200cm x 800cm eachSpray paint, acrylic paint, oil paint, glossy house paint, charcoal, oil bar, varnish on canvas2020Install shot from the group exhibition “Entrotopia” at Jána Koniarka Gallery Trnava, Slovakia — Cloth I/01 & Cloth I/02
200cm x 800cm each
Spray paint, acrylic paint, oil paint, glossy house paint, charcoal, oil bar, varnish on canvas
2020
Install shot from the group exhibition “Entrotopia” at Jána Koniarka Gallery Trnava, Slovakia

Victory arrives in a direct line that emanates from my subconscious to my arm.

Twin Poles on Yellow (Field)380cm x 280cmSpray paint, pigment, wallpaper paste and debris from the studio on canvas2020 — Twin Poles on Yellow (Field)
380cm x 280cm
Spray paint, pigment, wallpaper paste and debris from the studio on canvas
2020

Twin Poles on Yellow180cm x 200cmSpray paint, oil paint, acrylic paint, oil bar, charcoal, industrial ink, oil primer, glossy house paint and debris from the studio on canvas2020 — Twin Poles on Yellow
180cm x 200cm
Spray paint, oil paint, acrylic paint, oil bar, charcoal, industrial ink, oil primer, glossy house paint and debris from the studio on canvas
2020

Twin Poles on White180cm x 200cmSpray paint, oil paint, acrylic paint, oil bar, charcoal, industrial ink, oil primer, glossy house paint and debris from the studio on canvas2020 — Twin Poles on White
180cm x 200cm
Spray paint, oil paint, acrylic paint, oil bar, charcoal, industrial ink, oil primer, glossy house paint and debris from the studio on canvas
2020

Twin Poles on Yellow (Flag)300cm x 400cmSpray paint, acrylic paint, rope and debris from the studio on canvas2020Hanged outside Ján Koniarek Gallery, Trnava, Slovakia — Twin Poles on Yellow (Flag)
300cm x 400cm
Spray paint, acrylic paint, rope and debris from the studio on canvas
2020
Hanged outside Ján Koniarek Gallery, Trnava, Slovakia

I currently explore emptiness and space trough minimal mark-making on monumental monochrome canvases. I aim to create my own architecture—a volume of colour held inside a space.

Untitled (Burned Bones)340cm x 470cmPigment, Wallpaper paste and debris from the studio on canvas2020 — Untitled (Burned Bones)
340cm x 470cm
Pigment, Wallpaper paste and debris from the studio on canvas
2020

Twin Poles on Red280cm x 380cmSpray paint, pigment, acrylic paint & debris from the studio on canvas2019 — Twin Poles on Red
280cm x 380cm
Spray paint, pigment, acrylic paint & debris from the studio on canvas
2019

Twin Poles on Yellow280cm x 380cmSpray paint, pigment, acrylic paint & debris from the studio on canvas2020 — Twin Poles on Yellow
280cm x 380cm
Spray paint, pigment, acrylic paint & debris from the studio on canvas
2020

Takesada Matsutani

Specific locations, Neo-Platonic philosophy of the One and art movements such as Minimalism, Gutai, Danseakhwa and contemporary monumental mark-making and in situ works have been a source of the conceptual framework for my artistic practice.

Katharina Grosse

Julie Mehretu

Entrance to a Finnish Smoke Sauna

Lassila Hirvilammi & OOPEAA ArchitectsKuokkala Church in Jyväskylä, Finland — Lassila Hirvilammi & OOPEAA Architects
Kuokkala Church in Jyväskylä, Finland

Ecumenical prayer rooms in airports, contemporary Nordic churches and the traditional wooden saunas of my native Finland are all places of silence and contemplation. They all bear an emptiness that’s filled with marks of the human bodies that have passed through them.

Tadao AndoChurch of the Light in Ibaraki, Japan — Tadao Ando
Church of the Light in Ibaraki, Japan

White LightSingle-channel videoLoop2020 — White Light
Single-channel video
Loop
2020

During the quarantine, I have been working outside on the street in front of my home in London.

This has made me build my practice around the minimal in all aspects. I’m working with materials that are available in my local hardware stores, the street has become my studio and the space under by bed a place to store my works.

I have started reframing the context of my work.

Where and how could my work function outside the white cube space?

I have thought about my relationship with the built environment. I’ve been experimenting with hanging my works outside and I’ve realised that with my work I can shape how a space is perceived. I’ve engaged with my neighbours for the first time living in London.

I have come to realise that now I can truly create my own spaces. Large scale installations inside and outside spaces and creating new spaces feel a natural path for my practice.

Now The colour doesn't have to be held in a space, the colour can be the space.

Untitled (Yellow & Blue Monochromes on Street Signs)Spray paint, acrylic paint, debris from the street on canvas, street sign polesDimensions variable2020 — Untitled (Yellow & Blue Monochromes on Street Signs)
Spray paint, acrylic paint, debris from the street on canvas, street sign poles
Dimensions variable
2020

Untitled (Yellow Monochrome on Reinforced Concrete)Spray paint, acrylic paint, debris from the street on canvas, reinforced concrete archDimensions variable2020 — Untitled (Yellow Monochrome on Reinforced Concrete)
Spray paint, acrylic paint, debris from the street on canvas, reinforced concrete arch
Dimensions variable
2020

Untitled (Blue Monochrome on Reinforced Concrete)Spray paint, acrylic paint, debris from the street on canvas, reinforced concrete archDimensions variable2020 — Untitled (Blue Monochrome on Reinforced Concrete)
Spray paint, acrylic paint, debris from the street on canvas, reinforced concrete arch
Dimensions variable
2020

Jukka Virkkunen / Portfolio of Practice / Royal College of Art / 2020