Art comes to the supermarket
Artist and advertising agency set up art retail store
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By Kaisa Heinänen
"I would like a Marianna Uutinen, please! Perhaps that Humu painting. It's 1,200 euros, isn't it? And then one Henry Wuorila-Stenberg. That painting number 9 looks good. The price was 2,470 euros, wasn't it?"
"And I'll still have a couple of porcelain swans painted by Rosa Liksom, 199 euros apiece."
This is what trading might sound like at the art supermarket Pikasso, which opens on Albertinkatu in Helsinki on Thursday next week.
"Art is still seen to be elitist. People are afraid to go into a gallery. However, all of us go to the supermarket almost every day", notes one of the fathers of the idea, artist and art innovator Jani Leinonen. The second main figure behind Pikasso is Jukka Kurttila of the Bob Helsinki advertising agency.
Kurttila freely admits that he does not understand the first thing about art.
"Not many ordinary grocery store patrons have a very warm relationship with art, which is seen as cold", he says.
"Retail stores are anonymous places to do buying, and you don't have to be an expert in any field."
Pikasso wants to be a real store, except that it sells paintings and sculptures instead of milk and bread. Leinonen has chosen the wares. The store furnishings were borrowed from HOK-Elanto, and the store itself is a former sales outlet of that cooperative chain.
Customers can choose their goods from the shelves, place them in a shopping cart and pay the cashier - in cash, if they like. The prices are on the price tags.
The most valuable works are kept in the glass cases of the meat display. These include works by Andy Warhol and Louise Bourgeois. "You can take your purchases home right away. Here they just look and see who swipes the Visa card", Leinonen says.
Leinonen was afraid that the artists would balk at the open commercialism of Pikasso. The fear proved unfounded. At least 80 artists have put their works on display.
One possible reason, in addition to the original idea, could be the sales commission of 40 percent taken by Pikasso, which is lower than that of many ordinary art galleries.
Kurttila feels that the distribution of art is quite undeveloped.
"Art completely lacks a retail level". Kurttila sees art gallery owners as the wholesale level. Kurttila says that Bob Helsinki is happy to be involved in activities in which conventions are called into question.
"We wanted to change something that has been done in the same way for centuries."
Pikasso differs from modern supermarkets in that it also offers customer service.
"There really is a large amount of good art here, and a friendly staff serving customers", Leinonen proclaims.
Pikasso is an experiment, and will remain open for nearly a month. Before it closes, there will be a closeout sale with discounts - or markups.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 2.9.2006
Pikasso (Albertinkatu 29) opens on September 7th, and will remain open until September 30th daily from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
KAISA HEINÄNEN / Helsingin Sanomat
kaisa.heinanen@hs.fi
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| 5.9.2006 - THIS WEEK |
 Art comes to the supermarket |
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