Professor Heikki Orvola (b. 1943) is one of the great influencers of Finnish design, and he is especially known as a master of glass technique and design. The artist’s lesser known masterpieces include hand-made embroidery on colourful fabric – small and unique pieces of art. His embroidery has never been exhibited on this scale before. These works play with recognisable and abstract shapes, deep colours and effects created by changes in the running direction of the yarn.
Since the early 1970s, embroidery has satisfied the artist’s need to make things by hand. Indeed, Orvola says: “I had an immense need to make something by hand, and at first, embroidery was a kind of ‘private pleasure.’”
The act of making these sewn images has been far more important than the end result, and quite revealingly, Orvola has used the protective fabric used for printing fabric as foundation fabric for his embroidery. He does not plan ahead for the details in his embroidery: “When I start embroidering, I transfer the themes and outlines of the work onto the fabric by sewing. The patterns and colours of the backing fabric affect the composition, the details and the colour scheme of the work, which in turn affect the making of the work and the time spent on it, together with the size of the work. It is actually quite a long process,” Heikki Orvola says.
The need to make things by hand arose when the artist moved from ceramics to glass. Making glass pieces was only a form of design for Orvola, because the handcraft itself, or the forming of the glass to make an item, is done by glass blowers. He also values the meditative side of making things by hand and considers handcraft a matter of skill and first and foremost a form of constant practice.
The work of Professor Heikki Orvola as an artist and designer has received many awards both in Finland and abroad, and his work is featured in numerous private and public collections around the world.
The exhibition consists of 58 works on display in the pop up space of the National Museum of Finland. Entrance is free of charge.
For more information, please contact
Exhibitions Registrar Titta Häkkinen, titta.hakkinen@kansallismuseo.fi, tel. +358 (0)295 33 6334
Media images
THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF FINLAND
Mannerheimintie 34, Helsinki
Open Tue, Thu–Sun from 11 am to 6 pm, Wed 11 am to 8 pm, closed Mon
http://www.kansallismuseo.fi/en/index
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Heikki Orvola’s embroidery at the National Museum of Finland 5 October to 30 December 2018
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