Hanna-Kaisa Korolainen (DA) works with textiles, ceramics, and glass. She has studied textile art, photography, and contemporary art (Aalto University, Turku Arts Academy, University of Paris 8). Korolainen completed her doctorate at Aalto University in 2022, with Teemu Mäki acting as the opponent. Her dissertation, Making of Inspiration – From Monet to Warhol and Beyond, examined the role of inspiration in the creative process. Drawing especially from art history, Korolainen entwines the past with the present in her work, often resulting in absurd combinations. Long years spent in Paris and Brussels, along with her background in fashion and textile design, are reflected in her use of colour and material-driven approach.

Korolainen’s works have been widely exhibited in Finland, including EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art, the Design Museum, the Craft Museum of Finland, the Ostrobothnian Museum, and Lokal Gallery. Internationally, her works has been shown at the Comfort Mental gallery in Paris, the Finnish Institute in France, Snow Gallery in Berlin, Schloss Hollenegg in Austria, Milan Design Week, and the Collectible fair in Brussels, among others.

Korolainen also creates large-scale commissioned works – she is currently working on a 28 m² rya rug titled Pink Harmony for the soon-to-be-opened Virgil Abloh Foundation in Chicago, where a collection of her unique textile and ceramic works will also be installed.

Her works are included in public collections such as the Finnish National Gallery, Kunsthalle Helsinki, and the Design Museum, as well as in private collections in Europe, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. She has received awards such as the Auno and Mauri Riuttu Foundation Prize and the ICMA Award of Excellence, and her rya rug collection has been recognized at New York Textile Month.

“Sketching is the heart of everything; it is the decisive moment of the process. I try to work as much as possible with my hands and as little as possible with the computer.”

LINKS:

https://yle.fi/a/3-12236998

https://www.helsinkidesignweek.com/series/weekly-studio/weekly-studio-hanna-kaisa-korolainen/

https://www.kansallismuseo.fi/en/exhibitions/rakkauden-ja-kapinan-talo

https://www.designmuseum.fi/fi/exhibitions/hyvissa-kasissa/

https://www.decohome.de/portraet-textilpoesie-von-hanna-kaisa-korolainen/

https://www.finnishdesignshop.fi/design-stories/haastattelu/hanna-kaisa-korolainen-pohjoismainen-maksimalisti

http://www.aroundjournal.com/hanna-kaisa-korolainen-house-play-rain/

https://www.trendtablet.com/60632-waxman-textile-prize-winners-2017/

VIDEO:

https://emmamuseum.fi/taiteilijahaastattelu-hanna-kaisa-korolainen/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNpYYJE8cM8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LwTkwMkPl8

https://vimeo.com/297170956

https://vimeo.com/297170956

RADIO:

https://areena.yle.fi/1-74549377

https://areena.yle.fi/audio/1-50382690

Photo: Anne Kinnunen