Kaisu Koivisto - Portfolio: Selection of Works 2009 2015 - Artist Statement - Biography - CV Kaisu Koivisto Käenkuja 8 A 41 00500 Helsinki, Finland +358 40 705 1908 kaisukk@yahoo.com www.kaisukoivisto.com 1
Kaisu Koivisto: Wanderlust I Electrogalvanized steel, sealskin boot; 2015 30 x 28 x 15 cm 2
Kaisu Koivisto: Mountain Shoes Hiking boots, electrolysis zinc-coated steel; 2014 20 x 50 x 40 cm 3
Kaisu Koivisto: From the series Transformative Powers Electrogalvanized steel, rabbit skin; 2015 50 x 28 x 23 cm 4
Kaisu Koivisto: Echo I Electrogalvanized steel, wood, mirror; 2011 120 x 65 x 48 cm 5
Kaisu Koivisto: From the series Every Moment Pigment print; 2015 20 x 30 cm Kaisu Koivisto: Mobile Measuring Device Acrylic on wood; 2015 99 x 99 x 5 cm 6
Kaisu Koivisto: Mobile Measuring Device Acrylic on wood; 2015 99 x 99 x 5 cm 7
Kaisu Koivisto: From the series Every Moment Pigment print; 2015 20 x 30 cm each 8
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Kaisu Koivisto: From the series Landscapes of Longing (Barentsburg, Svalbard) Lambda print / Silisec; 2013 60 x 90 cm 10
Kaisu Koivisto: From the series Landscapes of Longing Pigment print; 2014 100 x 150 cm / 66 x100 cm / 40 x 60 cm 11
Kaisu Koivisto: Artist Statement The relationship between natural phenomena and technologies is an ongoing subject of exploration for me. I investigate the intersections of nature and culture and the modes in which mankind harnesses and exploits - or attempts to control - natural phenomena. How do we look at animals and nature? What is nature? How is the impact of technologies visible in the environment? My artistic practice traverses photography, drawing, video and sculptural elements. These diverse strands come together in the framework of installations. The topics and materials which I focus on are charged: materials such as recycled leather and fur, bones, horns and other organic matter bear traces of wear and tear, thus indicating the passage of time. The transience of materials is a connecting aspect of my sculptures and photographs. I am interested in an ambivalent aesthetic, the simultaneity of attractiveness and repulsiveness, the synthetic and the organic, stark geometry and the ornamental. I am inspired by the rough wilderness of the North as well as by the signs of human activity in the environment. Thus, my work tell more about people than nature: about the commodification of nature, the production of raw materials and the allegorical aspects of natural phenomena. The roots of my work are also in the realms of zoos, wunderkammers, science fiction and domesticated animals. My interest in cultivated and restrained nature leads me to well-known metropolises as well as areas which no longer are in focus of international geopolitical attention. Places in a dreamy state of oblivion such as former Cold War nuclear missile bases in Eastern Europe represent in my works estranged landscapes of the subconscious. Left to the elements, the massive structures of the abandoned areas gradually erode and become engulfed by vegetation. www.kaisukoivisto.com Kaisu Koivisto drawing rubbings on abandoned nuclear missile launch pads. Taurage, Lithuania (2011) and Barta, Latvia (2012). 12
Kaisu Koivisto: Kaisu Koivisto: Flood Installation, size variable. Salvaged leather, cardboard; 2013 Intersezioni. Museo Andersen, Rome 2013 13
Kaisu Koivisto: Ghost Polar bear skin, steel, wood; 2009 137 x 180 x 171 cm On the wall: Claudia Peill: Pianeta solitario (Mixed media on photographic base and canvas, 2013) Extraterrestre (Mixed media on photographic base and canvas, 2013) Intersezioni. Museo Andersen, Rome 2013 14
Biography / Kaisu Koivisto Kaisu Koivisto ( b.1962) earned her MFA at the University of Art and Design Helsinki. She lives in Helsinki, Finland. Installations, photography, drawing and video are integral aspects of her artistic practice. The common denominator of her works is uncomfortable matter. Materials, the material world in which we live in. Objects and structures which carry information about the past. The burden of materials and the pleasure of objects, the transience of materials, natural scenery blemished with signs of exploitation, redundant military sites where massive concrete structures crumble. Uncomfortable matter also in the meaning of matter = topic. Kaisu Koivisto s works have been exhibited at spaces including Museo Hendrik Christian Andersen, Rome; Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki; Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid; PS 1, New York; Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn, Estonia; Tokyo Metropolitan Museum, Galleria Sculptor, Helsinki; Pori Art Museum, Pori. www.kaisukoivisto.com 15
Kaisu Koivisto Curriculum Vitae kaisukk@yahoo.com tel. +358 40 705 1908 www.kaisukoivisto.com SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2015 Galleria AMA, Helsinki 2014 Longing for a Landscape. Galleria Harmaja, Oulu; P-galleria, Pori 2013 Techno Nature. Schuebbe Projects, Düsseldorf Intersezioni. Kaisu Koivisto / Claudia Peill. Museo Andersen, Rome Loud Silence. Kuntsi Museum for Modern Art, Vaasa, Finland 2012 Loud Silence. Aboa Vetus& Ars Nova Museum,Turku, Finland Index. Galleri Konstepidemin,Gothenburg,Sweden 2011 In a Different Light. Forum Box, Helsinki The President of Finland s Invitational Exhibition. Kultaranta. Naantali 2010 Eye to Eye. LOOV galerii, Tartu, Estonia Bambiesque. Nurmijärvi Library Gallery 2010 Strawberry Patch. Galleria Å, Turku. Galleria Pihatto, Lappeenranta 2009 Galleria Sculptor, Helsinki Changelings. Galleria Harmaja, Oulu; Galleria Himmelblau, Tampere 2007 Interiors. Sinebrychoff Art Museum, Helsinki Planet Bread. Almondine, Brooklyn, New York 2006 Surface Traps. Galleria Heino, Helsinki 2005 Global Nomad. Galleria Ama, Turku Cows in New York City:Reintroducing the Species. E.Jaske Gallery,Sydney, Australia 2004 Parallel Systems. Galleria Heino, Helsinki Cargo. The Finnish Paper Art Gallery, Kuusankoski 2002 The Great Meat Book. Galleria Sculptor, Helsinki Earthbound. Galleria AMA, Turku 2001 Cows in New York City: Reintroducing the Species. Photographic Gallery Hippolyte, Helsinki Wild. Hafnarborg Art Center, Hafnarfjördur, Iceland. Galleri Enkehuset, Stockholm 2000 Wild. Wäinö Aaltonen Museum, Turku Cows in New York City: Reintroducing the Species. Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Staten Island, New York; and Pori Art Museum, Pori, Finland 1999 Inseparabile. Galleria Arco di Rab, Rome Under the Skin. Studio X, Pori, Finland Revier. Schuebbe Projects, Düsseldorf 1998 Galerie Mann, Paris 1997 Milk and Honey. Galleria Sculptor, Helsinki, Finland 1996 Young Artist of the Year. Tampere Art Museum Cornucopia - Runsaudensarvi. Titanik, Turku, Finland 1995 Procedures. Argument, Tilburg, Holland 1994 Knowledge and Emotion. Kluuvin galleria, Helsinki 1993 Galleri 11, Reykjavik, Iceland 16
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2015 Moving Image Montage. Zeppelin, Melbourne, Australia. Liquid Spaces. Linnagalerii, Pärnu, Estonia Muistojen karuselli. Wanha lasitehdas, Riihimäki LANDSCAPE - METROPOLIS, G11 Galerie Former Power Station, Berlin LARU15 Human Era Nordic Environmental Art Exhibtion Lauttasaari, Helsinki 2014 Parallax - Geographical Resonances. Laboratorio Arte Alameda, Mexico City Duesseldorf Photo Weekend, Düsseldorf Environmental Art in Fall, Söndre land, Norway 2013 Intersezioni / Intersections Kaisu Koivisto / Claudia Peill. Museo Andersen, Rome OpenART. Örebro Art Museum, Sweden 2012 Camouflage.Visual Art and Design in Disguise. Kiasma Museum for Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland Reality Bites. Document in Contemporary Art. Kiasma Museum for Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland Helsinki Photography Biennal 2012: URBANITET. Finlandsinstitutet, Stockholm 2011 An Exchange with Sol Lewitt. Mass MoCa,North Adams, Massachusetts,USA Tierisch - menschlich. Kulturforum Alte Post, Neuss, Germany 2010 Kajaani Art Museum. Kajaani, Finland Luvassa lämpenevää. Joensuu Art Museum. Joensuu, Finland 2009 Richtung Norden. Maerz Künstlervereinigung, Linz, Austria Talent 2009.Between Dream and Reality.Designmuseum, Eindhoven,Netherlands Parallel Worlds Fleeting Realities. Scala Mata Exhibition Space, Venice 2008 Pewna Finlandia. Center for Polish Sculpture, Oronsko and BWA Contemporary Art Gallery, Wroclaw, Poland Nordic Drawings. Skellefteå Konsthall, Skellefteå; Rackstadmuseet, Arvika, 2007 Puska. Environmental Art, Nurmijärvi Pewna Finlandia. BWA Contemporary Art Gallery, Katowice, Poland 2006 SHIFTscale. Extended Field of Contemporary Sculpture. KUMU Estonian Art Museum, Tallinn, Estonia Horsepower. Helsinki Art Museum, Helsinki 2005 Acceleration. Kunsthalle Helsinki; Lönnström Art Museum, Rauma, FIN Une certaine Finlande. Atelier 340 Muzeum, Brussels Poles Apart, Poles Together. Parallel Project for the 51.Venice Biennial, Venice Sculptor 2005. Salo Art Museum, Salo, Finland Faunomania. Röda Sten, Gothenburg, Sweden Sata palaa. Lönnström Art Museum, Rauma 2004 Gokann. IV Triennial of Finnish Art, Kunsthalle Helsinki Love Me or Leave Me. Kiasma, Helsinki Sparks in your Shoe. Poriginal galleria 1984-2004, Pori, FIN Open Studio. Triangle Artists Workshop, Brooklyn, NY 2003 Gokann. IV Triennal of Finnish Art, Kyoto Art Center, Japan 2002 Klosterstrasse/Berlin. Ruine der Franziskaner-Klosterkirche, Berlin 2001 Skin Forms Map. Museo Laboratorio dell Universitadi Roma, Rome, Italy; Galleria Uusikuva, Kotka, Finland 6th KCAA - Seoul International Art Festival, Seoul, Korea Art-Cattle-History. Van Reekum Museum, Apeldoorn, Hollanti 2000 No es sólo lo que ves: Pervirtiendo el minimalismo. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid 1999 Animal. Anima. Animus. PS 1, New York 1999 Pori Art Museum, Pori, FIN; Museum of Modern Art, Arnhem, 1998; Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Canada 1998 Galerie Wolfram Bach, Düsseldorf 1997 World Award Winners Gallery. Intergrafia 1997. Cracow, Poland Loggia del Temanza, Venice, Italy 17
1996 Volcano. Pori Water Tower. Pori Art Museum and NYTE, Pori Beautiful. Honkahovi, Mänttä The Forgotten Present. Vilnius, Lithuania 1995 Joy, Temptation, Pathos. Alvar Aalto -museum, Jyväskylä Exhibition of Finnish Artists. Helsinki Kunsthalle (also 1992) Nordic Drawing Triennial. Sweden, Denmark, Norway (also 1992) 1994 Grafinnova 1994. International Print and Drawing Biennial, Vaasa,Finland Young Artists. Helsinki Kunsthalle (also 1987,1990, 1992,1993) AU. Tokyo Meropolitan Museum, Tokyo, Japan STUDIES 2007-09 University of Art and Design Helsinki, MFA University of Helsinki, studies in art history and aesthetics 1982-86 Art School of Kankaanpää, Finland AWARDS Europol Art Competition. Europol, The Hague, The Netherlands, 2011 Young Artist of the Year 1996 Nordic Drawing Triennial 1995 City of Pori: Culture Award 1992, 1996 Culture Award of Satakunnan Kansa 1991 WORK IN COLLECTIONS Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova, Turku Amos Anderson Art Museum, Helsinki Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki Turku Art Museum Helsinki Art Museum Statens Konstråd, Sweden South Carelia Art Museum, Lappeenranta Lönnström Art Museum, Rauma Nordic Watercolour Museum, Skärhamn, Sweden City of Skellefteå,Sweden Oulu Art Museum Tampere Art Museum Paulo Foundation Wihuri Foundation Wäinö Aaltonen Museum, Turku Pori Art Museum Saastamoinen Foundation Kumu, Art Museum of Estonia, Tallinn, Estonia University of Helsinki 18