Ismo Hölttö, 'Summer Meetings, Oulu 1966'.
Photograph, pigment print ed. 2/10 + 2 ap, signed and stamped verso. Sheet size 71 x 55 cm. Image size 49 x 43.5 cm. The edition is linked to the size of the work.
Unframed. The general impression is good.
Gallery Hippolyte, Helsinki 2003; Finnish Institute, Paris, France 2003; City Hall in Rouen, France 2004; Communication Development Museum, Kaunas, Latvia 2004; Gallery Image, Aarhus, Denmark 2005; Gallery Nykyaika, Tampere 2006; Finnish Museum of Photography, Helsinki, 2008; “A Finnish Vision”, l’Espace François-Mitterrand, Guingamp, France, 2010; Vasa Art Hall, Vasa 2011; Ateneum, Helsinki 2015; Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art, Vasa 2015-2016.
'People in the Lead Role', Ismo Hölttö, Helsinki, 1989, p. 96; Black & White Magazine (for collectors of fine art photography), USA, ISSN 1522-4805, April 2007, no. 50, p. 87.
Ismo Hölttö (b. 1940) is considered one of the greatest Finnish photographers of all time. Hölttö shot the main body of his artistic work during ten years between 1961 and 1970 while working as a goldsmith. The combination of his natural talent, social skills and the special time in history when he photographed his portraits resulted in photography that is also exceptional from an international point of view.
In 1970 Hölttö received a government grant for artistic work, quit his job as a goldsmith and founded his own studio. Hölttö continued to work in commercial photography until the year 2000 when he went into retirement.
Today Hölttö focuses his creative energy on croquis drawing that he started with already in 1964 when he went in to study drawing at Ateneum in his home town Helsinki. A familiar theme still runs in his art: the drawing are powerful, skillfully executed portraits of Finnish people.