Miikka Vaskola
Photo: Veikko Kähkönen
Miikka Vaskola's oeuvre consists of abstract landscapes and figurative imagery, that play between distance and proximity. Vaskola is best known for his large-scale paintings on unprimed canvas incorporating layers of ink, iron oxide, charcoal and chalk, that build up a very recogniseable aesthetic. He works persistently, investigating how different materials react with the canvas. The process is long – sometimes it takes years to complete a piece.
The notion of image as a key instrument in guiding and interpreting reality is a reoccurring theme in Vaskola’s work. Images are simultaneously familiar and foreign. They are stories, and they increasingly influence the invisible world – power structures and societies. The figurative elements in Vaskola's paintings often take us back to times past, just as the abstractions can be seen as excavations into the mind. The subjects often play with surreal elements, confusing the viewer and triggering their imagination.
Before and after graduating from the Finnish Academy of Fine Art in 2008, Miikka Vaskola (b. 1975, Helsinki) has been exhibiting actively with solo shows in Finland, including Helsinki Contemporary in 2015, 2013, and 2010, as well as in group exhibitions in Finland and abroad. Helsinki Contemporary presented his work at VOLTA9, Art Basel in 2013. Vaskola's extensive retrospective exhibition was seen at Turku Art Museum, Finland in 2016. His works are represented in the major Finnish private and public collections including Helsinki Art Museum, Turku Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, EMMA Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Heino Collection and The Wihuri Foundation Art Collection.
Exhibitions
9.2.-4.3.2018
9.12.-17.12.2017
30.10.-22.11.2015
8.2.-3.3.2013
Works
31
Aug 2018
04
May 2018
11
Apr 2018
Miikka Vaskola in EMMA's No Ordinary Moments exhibition
Miikka Vaskola: Untitled (2016) / Photo: Jussi TiainenMiikka Vaskola participates in the exhibition No Ordinary Moments, an extensive group exhibition featuring recent acquisitions and picks from EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art's collections....
20
Jun 2017
07
Feb 2017
Jylhä, Laitinen and Vaskola in group show in Triumph Gallery in Moscow
Miikka Vaskola, Untitled, 2016, ink and acrylic on canvas, 200 x 250 cm. Photo credit: Jussi Tiainen.Pekka Jylhä, Tuomas A. Laitinen and Miikka Vaskola participate in a group show in Triumph Gallery in Moscow. The exhibition called Extension.fi...
18
Jun 2016
Rauha Mäkilä, Miikka Vaskola and Henry Wuorila-Stenberg invited to design new covers for Finnish literary classics
In 2017 WSOY will be publishing a limited edition series of 12 Finnish literary classics with new covers. Each book cover will be recreated by a Finnish contemporary artist, and an exhibition displaying the original artworks will be held at Helsinki...
29
Nov 2012
Miikka Vaskola in exhibition Contemporary Lithography from Finland in Manila
The Metropolitan Museum of Manila, in cooperation with the Embassy of Finland, presents the works of eight contemporary Finnish printmakers: Maija Albrecht, Kalle Berg, Matti Hintikka, Valpuri Kylmänen, Kuuuti Lavonen, Tapani Mikkonen, Kaisu...
04
Jan 2013
13
Feb 2013
Hannaleena Heiska, Jukka Korkeila and Miikka Vaskola in Turku Art Museum
The exhibition Collected Works at Turku Art Museum showcases their collection from the perspective of stories. The selection consists of approximately one hundred works, ranging from older literary favourites to personal narratives in contemporary...
20
Feb 2013
01
Mar 2013
02
Apr 2013
10
Jun 2013
20
Jun 2013
02
Jun 2014
15
Feb 2018
08
Feb 2018
07
May 2016
12
Nov 2015
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