My recent works depict the fragility of a person’s tragic and at the same time comical struggle on his way. Some of the works are made in memory of a deceased relative, while others comment on the pandemic or the war in Ukraine. The content of the work determines the material I use. I use ceramics, glass, bronze and wood in my works. The purpose of the material selection is to open up the work to the viewer, utilizing the shared culture as well as the associations it defines. The abstract sculpture illustrates the transformation of an individual experience into a shared one.
As part of my sculpture series Where did everyone disappear, I ordered a sound piece from the composer Aino Tenkase . At Aino’s request and guidance, I played the sounds he needed on my prepared violin. Aino Tenkanen’s sound work Mihin alli katoshat can be heard throughout the exhibition.
Maija Helasvuo (b. 1968) works with wood, bronze, ceramics and glass in Hyvinkää and Riihimäki. In his works, Helasvuo deals with the experience of the limitations of life and social relationships. According to Helasvuo, in the visual arts, it is the sculptures that concretize our abstract experiences into tangible reality. He has had exhibitions since 1990 both in Finland and abroad. Helasvuo studied sculpture at the Lahti Art Institute 1990-1994 and later completed a master’s degree in visual arts at the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of the Arts.
Helasvuo’s artworks are in numerous art collections, such as the National Gallery of Finland, the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Fund collection, the Finnish Art Association and private collections. He has been awarded the Ducat Prize, the Thuring Main Prize and the Hyvinkää Art Prize. Helasvuo has been elected as an honorary member of the Finnish Sculptors’ Association in 2022. He has also been awarded the Finnish Lion’s Pro Finlandia medal 2023. He has created several works of public art in Hyvinkää and Joensuu.
