CHERIE SAMPSON, PERFORMANCE AT THE PORI ART MUSEUM

CHERIE SAMPSON, PERFORMANCE AT THE PORI ART MUSEUM
November 14, 1998 – November 14, 1998

Press Release:
Saturday, November 14, 1998, at 17:00
American artist Cherie Sampson (b. 1963) has spent a year in Finland as a Fulbright scholar. During her stay, she has performed at the Suon Estetiikka event in Ilomantsi, and created an environmental art piece and performance in Alajärvi, invited by the Nelimarkka Museum. In Pori, Sampson’s performance will be given a different dimension by Peter Frie’s Maisema exhibition, which in its own way seeks to illustrate the experience of place, landscape, and nature.

Cherie Sampson describes the basis of her performances and other works as follows:
“Searching for the spirit of a place is the underlying current in my art, and it is also part of what led me to Finland. Finland is familiar to me in terms of its nature because I grew up in North America, in an area where many Finnish immigrants settled. Most of the homes and places have traditionally been modest, in human scale, and immediately derived from the environment. When my great-grandfather, who came from Kurikka, arrived in Minnesota, he built his home from the trees that grew on his land, following the traditions of his ancestors. As I walk in the footsteps of my ancestors, I form an image of Finnish landscape, both natural and cultural. Water, wind, fire, clay, and wood are vital elements—they are part of us, just as we are part of nature.”

In addition to her artistic work, Cherie Sampson has spent several years as a facilitator for environmental art workshops aimed at schoolchildren and students, and has worked as an assistant in the Department of Art History at the University of Iowa in interdisciplinary art.

The performance is included with the regular museum admission fee (10/5/3 mk). The public will also have the opportunity to view Peter Frie’s exhibition, which runs until November 15, 1998.

Translated with ChatGPT