Larsen Warner presents Iria Leino

IRIA LEINO

One of the most important Scandinavian artistic discoveries in the last 50 years

Larsen Warner is thrilled to announce our upcoming solo presentations from the estate of New York-based Finnish artist Iria Leino (b.1932, Helsinki – d. 2022, NYC) Alongside presenting a solo booth of Leino's extraordinary work at Market Art Fair, Liljevalchs Konsthall (15 – 18 May) we will also be, for a temporary period between 13 May – 14 June, taking over the renowned gallery space at Hudiksvallsgatan 8 that was previously home to Galerie Nordenhacke, with a solo exhibition of Iria Leino’s groundbreaking abstract painting. These two presentations mark the posthumous discovery of a virtually unknown artist who created a prolific body of work in solitude for over 40 years and who’s work is now garnering international acclaim. The 2024 solo exhibition at Harpers Gallery, New York generated huge attention, with features in Art Forum, New York Times, W Magazine and Vogue Scandinavia helping to cement Leino as one of the most important Scandinavian artistic discoveries in the past 50 years.

Iria Leino was born in Finland in 1932 and completed her degree at Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts in 1955. Immersed in both painting and fashion during her student years, she moved to Paris after graduation to continue her training at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts. Leino then set aside her brush to grace the runways of Europe as the supermodel IRIA, walking for major fashion houses such as Christian Dior and Pierre Cardin .

Leino’s handling, however restrained, admits manifold inflections. The minimal traits are either loosely dispersed or densely crosshatched; they stand out clearly in a serial row or blend almost indiscernibly into the field. Anchoring the infinity of color to the finitude of the hand, they ground contemplation in a distinctly embodied practice.

Molly Warnock, Art Forum, January 2025

Iria Leino 1971 with works from her Buddhist Rain series

At the peak of her success in 1964, she suddenly abandoned her modeling career and settled in a gritty SoHo loft among New York City’s bohemian community. In New York Leino began to cultivate her distinctive language of abstraction at The Art Students League under the guidance of the legendary Larry Poons. She juxtaposed brilliant primary colours in dynamic arrangements within her deeply gestural practice, responding to the charged compositions produced by the first generation of Abstract Expressionists. Favouring the contemplative nature of pure colour and its sensuous immediacy over the spontaneous intensity of gestural abstraction, Leino dedicated several years to developing dozens of immersive colour field and lyrically abstract paintings.

Our duo presentations in Stockholm highlight some of the most extraordinary examples from this period of creative innovation. In her lifetime, Leino rarely engaged with the gallery system, the artist instead opted for an existence devoted to her studio practice and her faith in Buddhism, and much like pioneering artists such as Hilma af Klint, saw her work as a means of spiritual enlightenment rather than a purely commercial endeavour. Our duo presentations highlight the first two series that sparked her lifelong exploration of acrylic paint’s viscosity across a range of styles: the Colour Field and Buddhist Rain series and pay homage to this undiscovered painter; shedding light on her incisive contributions to the history of postwar abstraction.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON IRIA LEINO AND TO REGISTER YOUR INTEREST IN WORKS FROM OUR UPCOMING PRESENTATIONS PLEASE EMAIL SALES@LARSENWARNER.COM

IRIA LEINO
MARKET ART FAIR
LILJEVALCHS KONSTHALL
15-18 MAY
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IRIA LEINO
A SPECIAL SOLO PRESENTATION
LARSEN WARNER
AT HUDIKSVALLSGATAN 8
13 MAY - 14 JUNE

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