Tapani Rantala: Knowers through time

Tapani Rantala, 2017–2019.

The University Of Lapland's Collection

Oil on plywood, 252 x 492 cm.

Tapani Rantala studied in the Repin Institute of Arts in St. Petersburg from 1973 to 1975. Known particularly for his realistic painting style, Rantala has been a highly sought-after portrait painter especially in Northern Finland.

In addition to portraiture, Rantala has painted large-format works for companies and public spaces. These works, often in a panoramic format, can be found, for example, in the lobby of the Hotel Santa Claus in Rovaniemi, in the main lobby of the City Hall of Ylitornio, in the lobby of the Ivalo Airport, in the main lobby of Stora Enso’s Veitsiluoto factory premises in Kemi, as well as in the office of the Suurikuusikko gold mine in Kittilä.

In his work Knowers through time, Tapani Rantala depicts people who have made a significant contribution to the development of the University of Lapland. Among the figures portrayed, the viewer will recognize, for example, the University’s former rector Mauri Ylä-Kotola, Professor Emerita of Educational Psychology Kaarina Määttä, as well as the former Director of the Arctic Centre Timo Koivurova.

In the painting, knowers from two worlds – witches and shamans of the mythological realm and figures from present-day academia – meet in a northern landscape seeped in local history.