Imagine all the Biennale visitors together compressed into one small underground room the size of an average kitchen, yet almost all having a good time: Zdzislaw Schubert, the curator of this unique exhibition, explains it in the catalogue: Everything is small but the graphic artists are great Tapani Aartomaa and Pekka Loiri, distinguished finnish graphic artists, visited the "Pokaz" Critics Gallery at the last Poster Biennale in 2000. They liked the confined interior of this gallery and decided to exhibit their works at the next Biennale there. (..) Both artists decided to use all the drawbacks of this venue to their advantage, in particular its confined space. Hence, only a few works are exhibited in full format whereas the remaining posters are displayed only as miniatures. The catalogue accompanying the exhibition is also mini-sized. This unique concept - a mini-exhibition in a mini-gallery with a mini-catalogue - is also an excellent example of these graphic artists approach to tasks they face while working on their posters. This is a combination of realism adjusted to existing circumstances and fantasy that offers unusual solutions to problems. In a typical introduction I should now discuss the artistic output of both artists. However, my mini-space prevents me from doing this. Therefore, I will only cordially greet both artists in Warsaw. Their posters, both large and small, speak for themselves.

Tapani Aartomaa

1971, Stop! Commitee for the Protection of Water

1995, poster for a Kari Piippo poster exhibition

1999, poster for a poster exhibition in Athens

Pekka Loiri

1998, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, theater poster

2000, La Locanderia, theater poster

2001, poster for an invitational poster exhibition at the Tel Aviv Art Museum

Guy Schockaert, who as ICOGRADA president has probably seen more poster exhibition than anybody else, enjoys the unusual show.

The whole Faldin graphic design family squeezed together in front of Pekka Loiri's exhibition poster. Pekka's head is also a bit squeezed.

Peter Gyllan, designer from Denmark, proudly shows the mini-catalogue TPLA, to which he contributed a mini-essay.

Intro

Organizers

Jury

Winners

Posters & designers

Deja vu

Legends

Faldin

Wheelers & dealers

Brief encounters

Aartomaa & Loiri

Suicide ?

Street posters