KRISTINA RISKA (b. 1960)
Kristina Riska is one of Scandinavia’s foremost contemporary ceramic artists and a senior member of the Arabia Art Department Society in Helsinki. Riska has been exploring, defying, and redefining the traditional tenets of ceramic sculpture since the 1980s. Her unorthodox, large-scale works, inspired by nature and the properties of light and shadow, embody her rigorous and physical approach to her work.
Riska begins the conceptualization of her works on paper, her designs ultimately coming to fruition spontaneously as she works. Her process is a foray into the unknown; with each unplanned, instinctive manipulation of the clay, she establishes a non-physical “internal” space. She describes this space as a repository for her qualities of quietude, serenity, and concentration. Her unique ceramic sculptures are astounding in their technical prowess; their impressive scale is matched with equal delicacy; the artist creates forms that seemingly defy gravity and the constraints of the ceramic process. Her craftsmanship is evident as well in the beauty of her glazes, given the limitations of firing such monumental objects in the kiln.
In 1986, Riska exhibited at the Gallery Bronda, which could be considered her first critical success. On display were a series of vessels so large that the installation proved quite difficult. The State Art Collection purchased two works from the show, spurring a career in which she has been well recognized in her home country and abroad. In 1991 Riska exhibited jointly with the architect Kimmo Friman at Gallery Kluuvi. By this time she had abandoned all the traditional tenets of pot making - her curvaceous, imbricated, porous forms were recognized with prestigious accolades, including the State’s Suomi Prize in 1995 and a silver medal at the International Ceramic Contest in Mino, Japan in 2002.
KRISTINA RISKA
Finnish, b. 1960
EDUCATION
1986-87 Guest artist at Arabia Factory
1985 Trainee at Studio Bente Hansen, Copenhagen
1985 Assistant for Minni Lukander at Arabia
1984 Trainee at Arabia Factory
1979-84 Helsinki University of Art and Design
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2021 Kristina Riska: Canopic, Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland
2020 Fysis, Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland
2018 Kristina Riska, Hostler Burrows, New York, USA
Kristina Riska: New Works, Galleri Format, Oslo, Norway
The Line, Lokal, Helsinki, Finland
2015 Kristina Riska: New Work, Hostler Burrows, New York, USA
2014 Six Women, Hostler Burrows, New York, USA
2012 Arabia 9th Floor, Arabia Art Department, Helsinki, Finland
2011 Kristina Riska, Gallery Angelo Oy, Pori, Finland
Gallery För Bord Dukning, Copenhagen, Denmark
2010 Gallery Inger Molin, Stockholm, Sweden
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
Arabia Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
Ceramic Museum Grimmeshus, Denmark
2008 Gallery Oljemark, Helsinki
Gallery Kaj Forsblom, Helsinki
Musée Des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, France
2007 4+ Arthall, Luxembourg
4+ Arthall, Brussels, Belgium
Gallery Inger Molin, Stockholm, Sweden
Forum Box, Helsinki
2006 Kristina Riska, Helsinki Design Museum, Finland
Transformations, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia
2005 Schikaragi, Japan
Paula Winokur, Margaret West, Kristina Riska, Helsinki Design Museum, Finland
2004 European Ceramics, Fiskars Village, Finland
Q-exhibition, Fiskars Village, Finland
Matter and Spirit, Jyväskylä, Finland
Kristina Riska, Kati Tuominen-Niittylä, Erna Aaltonen, Gallery Philippe Denys, Brussels, Belgium
2003 Nordic Cool, The Kennedy Center, Washington, USA
Q-exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
2002 The International Ceramics Exhibition, Mino, Japan
Arabia Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
Poetics of Clay, Helsinki Design Museum, Finland
2001 Cheongju International Craft Biennale, Cheongju, Korea
Poetics of Clay, Philadelphia, USA
Kristina Riska and Dörte Behm, Rheine, Germany
2000 Blue, Scandinavian Exhibition, Grimmehus Ceramic Museum, Denmark
Nordic Ceramic Triennale, Berlin, Germany
Retretti Art Center, Punkaharju, Finland
Kristina Riska and Tiina Heiska, Gallery Johan S., Helsinki, Finland
1999 Lahti Art Museum, Finland
1998 Finnish Design, Design Forum, Helsinki, Finland
1997 Five Women, Design Forum, Helsinki, Finland
1996 Kristina Riska, Arabia Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
1993 Ceramic Art, Lappeenranta Art Museum, Finland
Different, Museum of Modern Art, Helsinki, Finland
1992 Art and Industry, Helsinki Design Museum, Finland
1991 Thoughts in Clay, Gallery Pictor, Vihti, Finland
Ceramic Art, Lappeenranta Art Museum, Finland
Designers Under the Spotlight, Kaapelihalli, Helsinki, Finland
Kristina Riska and Kimmo Friman, Gallery Kluuvi, Helsinki, Finland
1990 Three Ceramics, Gallery Johan S., Porvoo, Finland
Helsinki Design Museum, Finland
1989 Thirteen Rooms, Gallery Wanha Satama, Helsinki, Finland
1988 Touch, Helsinki Kunsthalle, Finland
1987 Light and Matter, City Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland
Metaxis, Design Museum, Helsinki, Finland
Kristina Riska: Fragile Time, Arabia Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
1986 Gallery Bronda, Helsinki, Finland
Arabia Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
1985 Arabia Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
1984 Design Museum, Helsinki, Finland
AWARDS AND GRANTS
2008 Honorary Award, Mino, Japan
2007 Finnish Cultural Foundation
2006 The State of Finland Art Commissions
2003 Finnish Cultural Foundation
2002 Silver medal, Mino, Japan
1998 Honorary award, Finnish Design 10 exhibition
1997 The State of Finland Central Commission for the Arts, working grant for 5 years
1995 Suomi-prize
D’Oro medal, Faenza, Italy
1994 The State of Finland Art Commissions, working grant for 1 year
1992 Finnish Cultural Foundation
1991 The State of Finland Art Commissions, working grant for 1/2 years
PROJECTS
2010 Visiting teacher, University of Illinois School of Architecture, USA
Designed an Installation at Kuopio Prison, Finland
2005 Public commission at Kamppi metro station, together with Kati Tuominen Niittylä and Pekka Paikkari, Finland
Designed the KoKo table setting for Arabia, together with Kati Tuominen-Niittylä
2004 Public commission: Northern Latitude at Olympic Park, Athens, Greece
1993 Visiting teacher at Konstfack, Stockholm, Sweden
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Finland’s State Collection
Sweden’s State Collection
City of Helsinki, Finland
Ulster Museum, Belfast, Ireland
Wayne State College, Minnesota, USA
Helsinki Design Museum, Finland
Gifu Museum, Japan
Saastamoinen Foundation, Finland
MEMBERSHIPS
Arabia Art Department Society
Finnish Art Association
Ornamo Art and Design Finland
AIC/IAC International Academy for Ceramics
