Previous Guest Artists
ANTON PITKÄNEN:
Travel Diary
In February-March 2024
Mixed media artist Anton Pitkänen combines craft techniques with painting and drawing in his art.
As a meticulous worker, he is interested in the unpredictability inherent in braiding and weaving - how
the different colors and materials eventually combine into a bigger whole that is impossible to completely plan
in advance, enabling collaboration between author and technology. The idea of pieces made with a weaving frame
from using rag rugs as backgrounds for the works, when Pitkänen thought about using the collected pieces of textiles andto the threads.
HEIKKI ORVOLA
10.11.2023 - 31.1.2024
Professor Heikki Orvola (b. 29.11.1943) graduated from the Department of Ceramic Art at the School of Industrial Arts in 1968.
He worked at the Nuutajärvi glass factory from 1968 to 1983, designing serial production and art glass. As Arabia's designer from 1987 to 1993, he specialized in tableware design. She has since also made a career as a textile designer, making printed fabrics for Marimekko from 1985 to 1996. She started embroidery already in the 1960s – to keep a feel for the material while the glassblower created the designer's object. For Orvola, embroidery has fulfilled the need for manual work. Meditative work with your hands is also important. Doing is more important than the end result. The backing fabric is the protective fabric under the "trykkityki" printable fabric.
The details of the embroidery are not planned in advance – the motifs and outlines of the work are created by knitting. The patterns and colours of the background fabric affect the composition, details and colour scheme, and then, together with the size of the work, they affect the production of the work and the time spent. The process is long; It may take up to 200 hours.
![Aino Kajaniemi, Kierto 2021[50400].JPG](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/37b4ff_4ed3b5a9bb1b4715b18b6e438e8c0cca~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_489,h_456,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/37b4ff_4ed3b5a9bb1b4715b18b6e438e8c0cca~mv2.jpg)
AINO KAJANIEMI
23.9.- 3.1.10.2023
Autumn Visiting textile artist at Virki is Aino Kajaniemi, who has been working with textiles for 40 years. Kajaniemi makes tapestries, in which she weaves subjects related to being human.
My tapestries tell stories about people and life. I make pictures of concrete small things, moments and moods in a person's life so that in my mind they form a metaphor for something wider. In my art, I deal with human growth and the layered nature of life and emotions: longing, fear, joy, shame, sadness, the difficulty of communication and living together. Nowadays, I especially think about the individual's difficulty in finding his place in the world, adversity, fears, dreams and helping others.
SYNNÖVE DICKHOFF
In the autumn and winter season 2022-23
"In these works displayed in Virkki's home museum, I deal with the themes of life's limitation and transience. The beginning and end of life are the ultimate questions of our existence and subjects present in my art."
JOHANNA VIRTANEN
In the fall and winter season 2022-23
"In these works displayed in Virkki Home Museum, I deal with the themes of life's limitation and transience. The beginning and end of life are the ultimate questions of our existence and subjects present in my art."
ULLA-MAIJA VIKMAN
In the autumn and winter season 2020
The work "Kaipuu", 2028 is painted with reactive colors on viscose threads and can be seen at Virki's home until the end of August 2020.
ULLA POHJOLA
Spring and Summer 2020
"I study the cycles of man and nature in my art. Birth, life and death have long been the subjects of my artworks. In my works, I combine embroidery, plants that I cultivate, natural materials, flea market items, and tempera and oil painting. In my works and their subjects, you can experience everything that a person carries with them, consciously or unconsciously. Hiding, protecting, changing, the momentary nature of life, the mystery of being human, and the invisible, inexplicable presence repeat in my works. The personal way of working brings private feelings and the world of images into a shared experience. The hand and the heart have an intuitive connection and interaction at their best: direct contact with materials, presence and stillness are important."
SONJA LÖFGREN
Spring and Summer 2019
The hand-embroidered works of Stockholm-based textile artist Sonja Löfgren were on display at the Virkki Home Museum from spring until the end of August.
RAIJA RASTAS
Autumn and Winter 2018
On September 18, the Day of Silence was comemorated in Merikannontie in the company of textile artist Raija Rastaa. Virkki's exhibition wall received 2 new works by Raija Rasta: left, "By the water" and right, "Virtaava".
In the presentation on 23.10. Raija Rastas spoke of her extensive working career in church textiles and other art, with plenty of work samples.
INKA KIVALO
Spring and Summer 2018
Inka talked about her glowing colourful tapestries on display, her art, and her career.
HELI TUORI-LUOTONEN
2017
Heli Tuori-Luutonen presented herself as a textile artist in the Virkki Home Museum.
On display was the Raita rug designed by Tuori-Luutonen for lovers of Finnish handicrafts.
RAIJA JOKINEN
2016
Artist Raija Jokinen started a series of artist visits at the Virkki home museum.
In her art, she has developed her own technique, where she combines painting, drawing, papermaking, embroidery and textiles.