Salon Dahlmann is back in Berlin — at 3 Marburger Street. One of the city’s truly exceptional and must-visit addresses for art lovers. Because, who among art collectors invites exhibition-goers into their private home to showcase not only the art on the walls and in the rooms but also elegant and generously scaled living areas that stretch all the way into the bedroom?!
Timo Miettinen does it with total ease and naturalness every Saturday afternoon — and he’s been doing it for quite a long time. Only, there had been a longer pause, because he has moved Salon Dahlmann now to the 3rd floor. The opening was on May 1, and the Finnish and especially the queer community of Berlin gathered. And this is easy to understand: Miettinen was born and raised in Finland, built a career there as an entrepreneur, but twenty years ago swapped the CEO post for his passion for art and, on top of that, discovered his love for Berlin (and Berlin’s queer scene in particular). He calls the city today his home, and it has fulfilled all of his expectations.
Of course, he could enjoy his collection behind closed doors entirely, but that’s not his style: “Art belongs to all of us,” he once said, “and if I have the privilege of collecting art, I want to share that art with others. That’s why I became a salon host.” And Miettinen clearly enjoys it.
Clear Focus on Masculinity
But the salon is only half of the story. For down on the right, next to the grand turn-of-the-century entrance to the building at Marburger Street 3, lies a small but equally refined gallery run by Miettinen, where until July 18 the paintings of the Finnish artist Jarmo Mäkilä are on view under the title “Flesh.” The title nods to Andy Warhol’s 1968 film of the same name, starring the unforgettable Joe Dallesandro. Mäkilä’s canvases push the theme of masculinity in a near-magical way.
If we were in Finland, there’d probably be no need to explain who Mäkilä is, though he has shown his work here as well. Born in 1952 in Rauma, Finland, the artist is among the established figures in his field, and with his figurative paintings blended with a magical surrealism, he sits squarely in the postmodern camp.
The Magic of the Hidden
Some of his oeuvre resembles the mythic-dreamlike scenarios of Neo Rauch — at least a little. The mystery here, as there, is an invitation for those who like to interpret. In addition, the pictorial content leans toward autofiction — Mäkilä translates his life story into visual motifs, whether childhood memories or the theme of masculinity, and beyond.
The Berlin pieces presented here follow the same path, though with a distinct emphasis on masculinity. We gaze at the naked, tattooed torso of an older man, enfolded by large hands that seem to emerge from a void of darkness. The painting bears the title “Only God can judge me.” Another naked torso, isolated in surrounding darkness, appears to float and is pierced by a spray of arrows, drawing a religious-iconography reference to the figure of Saint Sebastian.
A large-scale work shows male figures of various ages, one seated in an armchair with a naked corpse resting on his lap. This, too, harks back to a religious motif — the Pietà. Some figures wear a garishly colored mouth, which clashes with the expected masculine aura. Yet the tension is a deliberately crafted artistic effect, as Mäkilä explains to us:
A painting is not what you see, but what it awakens in you and what lies behind it. A person essentially lives two lives: one exterior and one interior. The exterior is hidden, the interior visible. I try to grasp that hidden life.
If you’re curious about the magic of the hidden, this show is highly recommended. The exhibition at the Miettinen Collection, like Salon Dahlmann, is accessible only on Saturdays from 12 to 6 pm.
