Mika Vainio. Sónar 2022

Within the framework of the Sónar 2022 festival, the Fundació Antoni Tàpies presents two interventions dedicated to the Finnish artist Mika Vainio: Sondear, a sound installation, and Museum of the Sound, a listening room with compositions by the artist.

Presentation: Friday 17 June, 2022, from 18.00 to 21.00 h. With the participation of DJ Sotofett and the collaboration of Moritz.

Sondear, 2001. Sound installation by Mika Vainio

Sondear, 2001, is a sound installation by Mika Vainio (Helsinki, 1963-Trouville-sur-Mer, 2017) which records in real time the urban environment through the vibrations of Antoni Tàpies’s sculpture Núvol i cadira (Cloud and Chair, 1990). The sound signals are converted into graphics using an analog oscilloscope, the electronic measuring instrument that is part of the installation. Sondear was created in 2001 for the exhibition Architectures of Discourse, curated by Ute Meta Bauer, which took place at the Fundació in 2001.

Dates: June and July 2022. | Set up by Rikke Lundgreen and Nunsys. | The re-installation of this work is part of the Engagement project.

Museum of Sound. Mika Vainio Listening Room

Mika Vainio had a habit to invite friends to his home and play them music recordings in silence with full concentration. In the series of the listening rooms the aim is to create a similar situation, an empty room full of sound.

The listening room has the intention to get back to listening as a focused and prioritised activity, were you do nothing else than listening. Everyone has a relation to sound and it is often very subjective. How can music trigger an emotional response?

The room has few visual elements and is focused just on the act of listening. With no distractions the listener can create a narrative from its own connotations. Simply just experience sound.

Mika Vainio had a special bond with Barcelona, which he visited numerous times and where he lived between 1999 and 2002. In addition, he participated in the Sónar festival in several editions.

The selection consists of compositions created and performed by Mika Vainio and has been made especially for the Fundació Antoni Tàpies, curated by Rikke Lundgreen and Tommi Grölund.

Rikke Lundgreen was Mika Vainio’s spouse and is based in Oslo.

Lundgreen is an artist and curator and has worked with sound in various projects. Mika Vainio’s studio, archive, and collections of records and books remains in Oslo where he lived with Lundgreen. 

Tommi Grönlund is an artist and runs the record label Sähkö Recordings which Grönlund started with Mika Vainio in 1993.

The Museum of Sound is nomadic and in flux, it exists in no specific place and is rooted in the essence of sound and listening. Tommi Grönlund and Rikke Lundgreen created the initiative while preparing the exhibition Mika Vainio 50Hz at the museum of contemporary art Kiasma in Helsinki, Autumn 2020.

Dates: June 16, 17, 18 & 19, 2022.