stefan bremer
who, what, where, when, why not?
JULY 30 - august 05, 2023
“Stefan Bremer elevates my capacity to
imagine, to be awed, to be resolute,
to empathize, to dream sky high with
every passing decade.”
from Finland’s Dark Poet of Velocity by Arno Rafael Minkkinen
for Salo Art Museum’s VELOCITY exhibition catalog, 2019
“For the longest time I have been preoccupied with the human condition, exploring the existentialist premise and soulscape of the Finnish woman and Finnish man. I have plunged into the world of the young, especially those living outside the mainstream, teetering between nothingness and hopefulness. My works often comment on the morals of politics and lack thereof. I try to find a balance in my artistic work between elitist themes and all the loud and noisy populist amusements. Metaphysically, I have always been engaged with the concept of time, from the slimmest of its slices, imperceptible to the human eye, to exactly the opposite, the equally invisible prolongation of time in space. These extremes, in turn, have led me to begin delineating between the act of seeing and observing and the role three-dimensionality might play within those frameworks, which ultimately raises the question of how one deals with the loss of sight.”
Stefan Bremer, January 2023
Stefan Bremer’s illustrious and multi-directional career in photography is as diverse as his own now legendary artistic oeuvre. His deliberate eclecticism—in no particular order, chronological or otherwise—is filled with portraits centered on humanity in all its wondrous varieties from around the world and in Finland. There’s always the street, always the night, rock and still rolling rollers included. Add experimental studio send ups, documents from hell in Auschwitz and Chernobyl, the climate and the sky, the horizon, fireworks and killer waves and clouds, all from one eye, all created over the decades. This is what makes Stefan Bremer’s pedagogy so unique, originating as it does from the very eclectic richness of his imagery. As one of Finland’s longest serving, and most influential teachers—with a five-year stint as State Professor of Photography around the turn of the century—Stefan Bremer, humble spirit, and guiding master that he is, will help you shape a pathway and direction that will astonish, not just Steffe as he is called, not just your colleagues in the workshop, but most importantly, you yourself.
Wrap-up Friday will be a celebration of individual achievements and collective energies through an exhibition/slide show, also open to the Paltaniemi and greater Kajaani public.
STEFAN BREMER BRIEF BIO
Stefan Bremer’s career began as a freelance photojournalist with Finland’s top newspapers and magazines. He continues to cover music, dance, and theatrical performances for the leading Finnish and Swedish theaters. Once a still photographer for films like Jim Jarmucsh’s classic, Night on Earth, he has been the official photographer for the world-famous Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival since 1982. As an exhibiting photographer, Bremer has held over 60 solo shows in countries that include Denmark, England, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, and the United States. Group shows number over 100. He has been teaching at Aalto University of Art and Design in Helsinki since 1979 and conducted 18 workshops around the world including Africa, Cuba, Egypt, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Ukraine, and Vietnam.
