About my working

In my paintings, conscious and controlled expression engages in a dialogue between unconscious and playful expression. I deliberately invite imperfections and deviations that push the abstract expression in a more human direction. The visual themes of my works are based on different conceptual starting points and the abstract compositions are guided by different geometric rules.

My works are characterized by an ambivalent nature: on the one hand, the abstract compositions have their immaterial nature as they refer to rationality, the arrangement and control. On the other hand, the material imprint of the paintings also brings out sensory and bodily experiences. In their materiality and spatiality, the geometric subjects also reveal something about how we make observations and how we always look for meaning in what we see.

The geometric themes of my paintings seek contact with the surrounding built environment. I think of geometric shapes as actually pictorial subjects and characters that refer to easily recognizable everyday observations. On the other hand, the abstract thinking of the works equally refers to familiar rational choices, i.e. normative and invisible structures behind, for example, urban planning or other social activities.

Stig Baumgartner (b. 1969) is and artist and a lecturer in drawing and perception at the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts. He is noted also for his long career in public art. Baumgartner's paintings are found in Finland's leading collections, including the Saastamoinen Foundation and the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma.

Conclude, 2023, oil on canvas, 240 x 200 cm