Art challenging your senses

On 5 March, Åland Post pays tribute to Åland artist Henrik Nylund with a bold issue in the series of 2020 Sepac stamps featuring national art.

HENRIK NYLUND (1945-1982) lived to be only 36, but during his relatively short life and artistic career of barely 10 years, he made a lasting imprint in the Åland worlds of art and culture.

BORN ON FÖGLÖ , he remained loyal to this archipelago island throughout his life. Debuting as artist in 1971, he was entirely autodidact. At the same time, he took an active part in the local cultural and theatrical life, and his strong societal engagement led him to the Åland Parliament for a period in the mid-1970s. He was also one of the founders of local newspaper Nya Åland in 1981 for which he contributed with unerring socio-political drawings.

AS A PRODUCTIVE and versatile artist, he created simple drawings as well as monumental paintings. One of his largest commissions was the decoration of car ferry Viking Sally in 1979 for which he chose motifs from the Åland archipelago and boating.

HIS GREATEST sources of inspiration were nature and the archipelago, which he studied intensively and in detail. In drawings and paintings of stones, grass, birds and eggs, he alternated between the smallest and largest scales, working in ink as well as in oil and watercolour. Not entirely naturalistic in his style, non-figurative and abstract painting suited him well as is illustrated in the 1976 triptych featured on the stamp.

THE SO-CALLED Sabina triptych was made from acrylic on panels and named after its time at Restaurant Sabina, previously located in Mariehamn. Today, the large painting in three panels is on display at the Parliament of Åland as an element of the collections of the Åland Art Museum.

SEPAC – ARTWORK IN NATIONAL COLLECTION

DATE OF ISSUE: 5 March 2020

ARTIST: Henrik Nylund EDITION: 90 000

DENOMINATION: )1.40

PRICE FDC: )2.20

STAMP SIZE: 60 x 20 mm

SHEET SIZE: 2 x 15 stamps PAPER: 110 g/m² PERFORATION: 13 per 2 cm PRINTING METHOD: 4-colour offset

PRINTING HOUSE: Cartor Security Printing

Ink drawings for the work Solar eclipse from 1972 adorn the stamp sheet and were also the inspiration for the first day cancel. Part of the work illustrates the front of the FDC, whereas the back shows the 1981 mural Outlook, currently on display at the Åland Cultural History Museum.