Erna Aaltonen

 "Spheres have always been central to my work. But for this second exhibition at the Galerie de l'Ancienne Poste, I also wanted to show other facets of my work, explains Erna Aaltonen. The harmonious roundness of the colored globes that made her reputation is now matched by the rigor of her Monoliths. But a gentle rigor. There's nothing cold or austere about the Finnish artist's vertical creations. No harsh angles, no sharp edges. Rather, a serene elegance. Perfectly balanced proportions, forms that rise up and discreetly impose their bodies in space.
Erna Aaltonen likes pure lines and her influences can be found among the fields of modern architecture and minimalist sculpture rather than ancient or contemporary ceramics Monoliths by Erna Aaltonen may seem monochrome. And yet, although they are dominated by one main hue - white, black, green... - they gradually reveal the richness of a palette full of nuances and gradations, without violent contrasts or breaks. The materiality of the surface, with its interplay of smooth and rough, creates subtle reliefs that capture or reflect light. " In a way, I see the Spheres and Monoliths as three-dimensional canvases on which I can experiment with color. "explains Erna Aaltonen. [...]
Those familiar with his work will rediscover it here from a new angle. Fifteen or so Spheres interact with a group of Monoliths, some created in the early 2010s but rarely shown until now, and others, of smaller format, created especially for the occasion. The confrontation of these two large "families" allows us to appreciate the coherence of Erna Aaltonen's artistic universe - abstract sculptures with very simple volumes and lines - as well as the subtlety of her thousand and one variations in form and color.
Guillaume Morel,
journalist and art critic,
excerpts from the reference text, 2018.