During his two-month residency, Mikko Kallio makes works where he combines collage and drawings.
His works are usually filled with different details and motifs, he works on paper using pencil, cut paper, watercolour and ink. Rather than using ready using images like photographs in his collages, Mikko Kallio draws and paints everything himself. By pasting layers of different papers together, he aims to build a subtle relief surface on his work.
There is a playful aspect to Mikko Kallio's creative process: he creates collages like multi-layered puzzles by recycling the remaining pieces of his previous works. He sees the characters in his work as wanderers - animals, plants, insects and human beings - seeking new ways of looking at the world and finding answers in an often very complex reality. Sometimes he adds found objects to his collages, transforming them into something precious, with new meanings. His practice also includes large-scale paintings in which he adds found objects.
Mikko Kallio's work has been widely exhibited in Finland and internationally. His work is represented at the art collection of Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, the Finnish State Art Collection, the Helsinki Art Museum and the Tampere Art Museum in Finland. He has also carried out public commissions in Finland.
Mikko Kallio (Finland) is in residence at the Cité internationale des arts through the Finnish Foundation programme at the Cité des arts in Paris.