ilikeithereblog:

We made a promise to ourselves when starting I Like It Here to seek and bring out the best of new talent, limited and exclusive editions of artworks and objects for our Edited collection.

Launching this we are excited to introduce the work of artist-designer Sampo Lehtinen.  An alumni of London College of Fashion and Aalto University Helsinki, Lehtinen has worked for the likes of John Galliano in Paris, and through illustration techniques developed studying and working in fashion, the designer has produced a series of collages inspired by the Austrian artist Egon Schiele.

Arthur Roessler (aka The Biscuit Man) from the Schiele series, 2011.

What appealed to us about these pieces were technique Lehtinen uses, the texture and tones of his work, and use of recycled materials — the old fashion magazines. 

Working from the depths of a cottage in the Finnish forest, where the artist had set up a temporary studio over the holidays, we caught up with Lehtinen last month and asked him some questions about his work.

How did you start making these collages?

Well, originally I studied fashion design and we used to religiously make these sketchbooks of ideas to support the actual design work.  They were scrapbooks of images, materials, drawings, details, notes and all that, and I very much enjoyed doing them - perhaps even more than the actual garment design!  I used to compose images by tearing one or two principal images into pieces, then reassembling them to visualise a desired silhouette. I thought it was more layered and interesting way to describe the idea than traditional drawing.

One of my tutors suggested that I could make the actual illustrations of the collection with that technique.  After graduation (2002) I developed the technique further, but not very systematically.  As a professional fashion designer you don’t really have the same time to create these sketchbooks.

Female Nude from Schiele series, 2011.

Were any of your fashion illustrations ever published?

Some of them, yes.  There was some interest from different kinds of publishers, which is interesting because I wasn’t really active on that front myself and didn’t have an agent.  Also there was virtually nothing going on the internet at the time,
especially in France were I was living at the time!  I guess it was just word-of-mouth or something.  Anyway, college wasn’t common at all in the commercial media at the time and people were afraid of copyrights and that sort of things.  But I must say my style was much more spontaneous and less detailed than now, you could recognise the
original images used more easily.

Why did you start making these reinterpretations of world famous paintings?

Last year I started reviving the idea of these collages and wanted to develop my technique.  I thought the best way to concentrate purely on the technique would be by choosing recognisable images.  I have always been very passionate about modern
art history in particular and naturally wanted bring own perspective to the original paintings, but I never expected people to react so positively to the first sketches.  That also gave me a boost to go ahead and carry on developing my expression along those lines.

The Schiele series struck us as intensely beautiful, what interests you about this artist?

I have never been a huge Schiele fan by any account, but what I find inspiring about his work is the dialogue between the line and surface.  I really admire the sketchy, spontaneous, progressive nature of his paintings and drawings.  The other interesting thing is the nudity.  I am not talking about the amount of bare skin, but the way he
illustrated people with patchy, tattered skin and imbalanced, even bruised limbs and placed them in front of pure, pale but very organic backgrounds.  It’s also interesting how Schiele thematically, and in terms of composition and dynamics, is so important to contemporary fashion photography, and yet retouching with smudge
tools is normally taken for granted within the industry, something that seems completely contradictory to his aesthetics.  By patching the perfect skin from cosmetics advertisement, I am almost taking it back to Schiele!

What tools and materials do you use and how long does it take to create these colleges?

In principal, I only use a ruler for tearing the pieces and a glue stick to attach.  But then of course I keep a selection of different sizes and types of glue and varnishes for finishing.  I usually sketch the subject roughly on the paper with pencil first, but the finished artwork shows only what I find from existing images.  Unlike most contemporary collage artists, I don’t use scissors or a scalpel as I prefer the effect of the torn edge.  One artwork takes one days work to finish, sometimes a bit less sometimes a lot more!  Obviously, the size of the artwork and level of detail reflects that too, but they doesn’t necessarily go hand in hand.  Now I usually work on a small series or pair of independent collages simultaneously, which I think is a good way of keeping the work flowing.

Egon Schiele with Chinese Fruit and Lantern from Schiele Series, 2011.

We consider Lehtinen’s work an investment to start an art collection with and are keen to hear what you think of his work, see more on the website and please do contact us with any queries.