Lot 37: ESKO MÄNNIKKÖ (b.1959 Finnish)

ESKO MÄNNIKKÖ (b.1959 Finnish)
Kuivaniemi, 1991
chromogenic print
signed, titled, dated, numbered '11/20' and annotated 'Tplá' (Tiré par l'Artiste) in pencil on backing board
15½ x 19¼in. (40 x 49cm.)
21½ x 25¼in. (54.5 x 64cm.) with artist's secondhand frame

Esko Männikkö: Portikus, Frankfurt am Main/Oktagon, 1996, p.111; Männikkö, Naarashauki -- The Female Pike, Self-published, 2000, pp.94-95 (fig.1).

DISTINCTIVELY NORDIC
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.
Artist's Resale Right ("droit de Suite"). If the Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer also agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.
This work is number 11 from the sold-out edition of 20.

In this photograph, Männikkö captures the essence of these men living in relative isolation in the deep North of Finland. Knowledge of the people and the language afforded him intimate access to these characters and to their lives. The resulting image -- detailed and saturated with rich colours -- presents the particularities of the Finnish rural culture with honesty, humour, warmth and sensitivity. The secondhand frames he selects for displaying each photograph not only complement his images but also underscore his refreshingly unpretentious approach to art.

Männikkö's works have been shown internationally in dozens of solo and group exhibitions. In 2008, he won the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize. His work is held in private, corporate and institutional collections, including The Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. His seminal photobook Naarashauki (fig.1) is included in Parr & Badger, The Photobook: A History Vol II, pp.78-79. Männikkö lives and works in Oulu, Finland.