Pertti Kekarainen (Finnish, 1965-2021)

Provenance Note: Charles E. Balbach (1934-2024) was a respected Western New York civic leader, arts patron, and dedicated collector whose leadership left a lasting mark on the region’s cultural institutions. A graduate of Harvard University, Balbach combined intellectual rigor with a deep commitment to public service and philanthropy. He served for more than two decades on the board of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum (formerly the Albright-Knox Art Gallery), including a term as President of the Board. During his tenure, he helped guide long-range planning initiatives and strengthen institutional stewardship at a pivotal moment in the museum’s evolution. A thoughtful and disciplined collector, Balbach believed strongly in public access to art and in the responsibility of collectors to support the institutions that sustain cultural life. His legacy reflects a lifetime of civic engagement, connoisseurship, and enduring dedication to the arts.

Pertti Kekarainen (Finnish, 1965-2021)
Pertti Kekarainen was a Finnish artist and influential member of the Helsinki School whose work explored space, perception, and states of being through sculpturally informed photography. His long-running TILA series, developed over more than a decade and comprising over 130 works, takes its name from a Finnish word meaning space, room, or state of mind, reflecting both physical and psychological dimensions. Drawing on his training as a sculptor, Kekarainen created layered images with overlapping semi-transparent surfaces, graphic elements, and punctured forms that carve out depth through light, color, reflection, and shadow. Educated in Helsinki and The Hague, he exhibited widely in international solo and group exhibitions from the 1990s onward, and his work is held in numerous global collections.