Opening October 14 at Scandinavia House, Narrative Threads: Works by Eight Nordic Artists presents multi-media artwork by Nordic artists, each distinguished by their innovative use of natural, synthetic, and digital materials. Exploring Nordic craft traditions through a contemporary lens, the works in the exhibition engage with material experimentation, and digital technology. Textile design, ceramics, stitching, painting, audio recording, and assemblage unleash diverse narrative expressions and perspectives. The exhibition will feature the work of eight internationally celebrated artists: Margrethe Aanestad (Norway), Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir / Shoplifter (Iceland), Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson (Iceland), Hildur Bjarnadóttir (Iceland), Astrid Krogh (Denmark), Heidi Hankaniemi (Finland), Marianne Huotari (Finland), and Kristina Riska (Finland). The works in the exhibition explore personal histories and intergenerational discourse, while influenced by ages-old handicraft techniques and cultural traditions.
The Arabia Art Department Society's 20th anniversary show Northern Latitude 60.20890 opens at the Iittala & Arabia Design Center on September 14, 2023 and will be on view through January 28, 2024. The exhibition of Finnish contemporary ceramics is curated by New York-based gallerists Juliet Burrows and Kim Hostler. It is accompanied by a catalog, Arabia Art Department Society: 20 Years, featuring an essay by Burrows.
The artists of the Arabia Art Department Society are featured in the new exhibition “Atelier Life,” on view at the Hvitträsk Museum in Finland through September.
In spring 2022, the gallery debuted its third location in TribeCa, called HB381. The new Manhattan space is exclusively devoted to contemporary work and solo exhibitions, with primary focus on sculpture and ceramics by female artists including Kristina Riska, one of Scandinavia’s foremost contemporary ceramicists, and the Helsinki-based artist Marianne Huotari, a finalist in the 2022 Loewe Foundation Craft Prize. Both new spaces grew organically: “The impetus was simply to give the artists more exposure,” says Burrows.
Kristina Riska’s sculptures are deceptively simple. From across the room the large, undulating vessel forms beckon the viewer with familiarity. As you approach you feel a resonance with your own body. If we think of ourselves as part of the earth, there is a real connection between our bodies and these person sized vessels. We are drawn forward as we recognize echoes of our own form. Now from an intimate distance, closer inspection yields the truth: they are complex studies of life on the micro and macro levels, containing the history of humanity and biological life itself in physical form. They are everything all at once.
In the world of design, Kyösti Kakkonen's collection can hardly be matched. The Finnish collector has a remarkable career behind him, during which he managed to amass over 10,000 pieces of the finest ceramic and glass design spanning over a century.
Opening on 10th November 2022, EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art unveils its largest project to date: a new 1000m² exhibition space dedicated to Collection Kakkonen. Bridging the gap between art and design, Collection Kakkonen has been brought together over the course of 35 years by prominent businessman and collector Kyösti Kakkonen, subsequently gaining recognition as the most significant collection of unique and limited-edition Finnish glass and ceramics in the world.
KRISTINA RISKA
Finnish, b. 1960
EDUCATION
1979-1984
University of Applied Arts, Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022
Hidden, HB381, New York, USA
2021
Kristina Riska: Canopic, Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland
2020
Fysis, Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland
2019
Collect Fair, Hostler Burrows, London, UK
2018
Kristina Riska: New Works, Galleri Format, Oslo, Norway
Kristina Riska, Hostler Burrows, New York, USA
2015
Kristina Riska: New Work, Hostler Burrows, New York, USA
2010
Gallery Inger Molin, Stockholm, Sweden
2007
Gallery Inger Molin, Stockholm, Sweden
2006
Kristina Riska, Helsinki Design Museum, Finland
1996
Kristina Riska, Arabia Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
1987
Kristina Riska: Fragile Time, Arabia Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023
Narrative Threads, Scandinavia House, New York, NY, USA
Northern Latitude 60.20890: Arabia Art Department Society’s 20th anniversary exhibition,
Iittala & Arabia Design Centre, Helsinki, Finland
Atelier Life, Hvitträsk National Museum of Finland, Kirkkonummi, Finland
2022
Collection Kakkonen, Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo, Finland
2019
The Secret of the Paradise, Arabia Design Centre, Helsinki
Opening Exhibition, Ceramic Museum Kwum, Fiskars Village, Finland
2018
Verynice, Bloodygood, Gallery Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland
2017
Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden
2016
Summer Exhibition, Fiskars Village, Finland
2015
Finland Embassy in Washington DC, USA
2014
Six Women, Hostler Burrows, New York, USA
2010
Westerwald Ceramic Museum, Germany
Fire and Ice: Ceramic Art from Finland, Gallery Marianne Heller, Heidelberg, Germany
2009
Collection Exhibition, Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Finland
Ceramic Museum Grimmerhus, Denmark
2008
Gallery Kaj Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland
Musée Des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France
2007
Forum Box, Helsinki, Finland
4+ Arthall, Luxembourg
4+ Arthall, Brussels, Belgium
2006
Transformations, Canberra, Australia
2005
Shigaraaki Ceramic Park, Koka, Japan
2004
European Ceramics, Fiskars Village, Finland
Q-exhibition, Fiskars Village, Finland
Kristina Riska, Kati Tuominen-Niittylä, Erna Aaltonen, Gallery Philippe Denys, Brussels, Belgium
2003
Nordic Cool, The Kennedy Center, Washington DC, USA
Q-exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
2002
Poetics of Clay, Design Museum, Helsinki, Finland
The International Ceramics Exhibition, Mino, Japan
2001
Poetics of Clay, Philadelphia, USA
Cheongju International Craft Biennale, Cheongju, South Korea
Kristina Riska and Dörte Behm, Rheine, Germany
2000
Kristina Riska and Tiina Heiska, Gallery Johan S., Helsinki, Finland
Retretti Art Center, Punkaharju, Finland
Blue, Scandinavian Exhibition, Grimmehus Ceramic Museum, Denmark
Nordic Ceramic Triennale, Berlin, Germany
1997
Five Women, Design Forum, Helsinki, Finland
1995
Rauma Art Musuem, Rauma, Finland
1993
Ceramic Art, Lappeenranta Art Museum, Finland
1992
Art and Industry, Design Museum, Finland
1991
Ceramic Art, Lappeenranta Art Museum, Finland
Kristina Riska and Kimmo Friman, Gallery Kluuvi, Helsinki, Finland
1990
Helsinki Design Museum, Helsinki, Finland
1989
Thirteen Rooms, Gallery Wanha Satama, Helsinki, Finland
1988
The Touch, Art Hall, Helsinki, Finland
1987
Metaxis, Design Museum, Helsinki
Light and Material, Helsinki Art Museum, Finland
1986
Finnish Materials, Gallery Bronda, Helsinki, Finland
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2010
Visiting professor at the School of Architecture, Illinois, USA
1987-1997
Professor at University of Applied Arts, Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland
1987-1995
Part-Time Teacher at Helsinki Cultural Centre, Helsinki, Finland
1993
Visiting teacher at Konstfack, Stockholm, Sweden
PROJECTS AND RESIDENCIES
2018
Artist in Residence, Khio, Oslo National Academy of the Arts, Oslo, Norway
2016
Jury Member, Officine Saffi Award, Milan, Italy
2011
Jury Member, Competition for International Ceramic Festival, Mino, Japan
2010
Floorplan in Stone, Kuopio Prison, Kuopio, Finland
2005
Gekko, with Tuominen-Niittylä and Paikkari, Kamppi Metro Station, Helsinki, Finland
KoKo Set of Dishes, with Kati Tuominen-Niittylä, Arabia Factory, Helsinki, Finland
2004
Public Commission: Northern Latitude, Olympic-Park of Ceramic and Sculpture, Athens, Greece
AWARDS
2008 Honorary Award, International Competition for Ceramics, Mino, Japan
2007 Finish Cultural Foundation
2002 Silver Medal, International Competition for Ceramics, Mino, Japan
1998 Honorary Award, Finnish Design 10 Exhibition
1995 Gold Medal, Faenza, Italy
GRANTS
2021 Artist Pension, Finnish Government
2018 Traveling Grant, Finnish Government
2016 Working Grant, 5 years, Finnish Government
2006 Working Grant, 5 years, Finnish Government
2003 Working Grant, 3 years, Finland’s Cultural Fund
1997 Working Grant, 5 years , Finnish Government
1994 Working Grant, 1 year, Finnish Government
1992 Finland’s Cultural Fund
1991 Working Grant, 6 months, Finnish Government
1989 Finland’s Cultural Fund
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Finland’s State Collection
Sweden’s State Collection
City of Helsinki, Finland
Aalto University, Finland
Foundation Saastamoinen, Finland
Foundation Wihuri, Finland
Kakkonen Collection, Finland
Design Museum, Finland
Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu, Japan
Ulster Museum, Belfast, Ireland
Private Collections
MEMBERSHIPS
The Association of Finnish Sculptors
Ornamo / Finnish Designers
AIC-IAC International Academy of Ceramics
Arabia Art Department Society
