Kai Rentola is one of the first artists in Finland who started to use widely paper as a main material of his sculpture works. He researched topology and geometric possibilities of flat paper sheets to be folded and constructed them as a solid dimensional forms. He started from angular basic euclidic forms as in abstract origami way and ended to deal with a spiral constructions and more and more universal round arc forms.
His sculptures have very often a heavy and strong look because of a tempera emulsion color pigments and bees wax which he uses together with sea salt to cover and to make more resisting surfaces. Since all his works are quite light and very strenght and totally without any inside constructions. Sometimes Kai Rentola is saying that he just want to show that a “modern” form has always existed, even if all the unique forms and ideas are hiding in a certain level of so called ideal or Platonic world. He has been a member of Finnish Sculptors Association since 1995. Finnish Artists Association cv-info
The artworks of Kai Rentola have been shown in many places abroad. He has been invited to show his works several times in Northern Countries in Europe but also in United States. At the moment he is participating in one group exhibition in Japan.
Kai Rentola studied also calligraphy and graphic design back at the end of 70´s. He understood that there is a small door between a form of a letter and a sculpture work. Now and then he has been working also as a lecturer of typography and digital type design in the University of Art and Design in Helsinki at the School of Visual Culture. Kai Rentola have organized many typographical exhibitions together with his students. He has been a main organizer in ATypI (Association Typographique Internationale) 2005 Helsinki. Now he is giving some lectures and teaching now and then.
On the present day Kai Rentola is working in his Harakka Island studio in Helsinki or spending some time with his family in their lake side farm with Mitla and Johanna.