Portrait of Katriina Haikala. Courtesy of the artist.
Katriina Haikala: Artist Talk
Hosted by Elina Suoyrjö of The Finnish Institute in New York
Sunday, October 23, from 1–3 PM
A.I.R. Gallery
In conjunction with her solo exhibition SOCIAL PORTRAIT, visual artist Katriina Haikala will discuss the motives behind her work with Elina Suoyrjö from The Finnish Institute in New York. The central question of the talk is: how can art serve as a catalyst for change in society?
Katriina Haikala (b. 1977) lives and works in Helsinki, Finland, and has worked as an independent artist since 2007. She has carved out a career as an international artist by creating several socially impactful art projects that have been regarded by international media outlets. These projects include Monokini 2.0 - Who Says You need Two?, which empowered breast cancer survivors and challenged the aesthetics of high fashion and commercial culture, Social Portrait - Women Only, a drawing performance project that investigates the history of art as the history of power, and Hairy Underwear Collection, a bold in-your-face underwear collection that puts the hair we try to hide front and center.
In her work, she explores crossovers between community and visual art, fashion, design, and performance art. Her work interrogates norms and emerges from a passion to reveal prevailing power dynamics in society. She is especially interested in the challenges women face due to gender biases, and explores the role of women in western culture and society. She produces works together with communities, with an aesthetic interest and a critical eye on our social environment.
She has showcased her artwork in galleries and art institutions in cities such as New York, Washington, D.C., Tokyo, Japan, Berlin, Germany, Oslo, Norway, Stockholm, Sweden, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, St. Petersburg, Russia, and Murmansk, Russia.
She has presented work at museums and institutions including A.I.R. Gallery, New York, Thyssen Bornemiza National Museum, Madrid, Spain, Fondazione Volume, Rome, Italy, Finnish Cultural Institutes in London, Berlin, Tokyo, New York, Stockholm, Madrid, and Oslo, Espoo Modern Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland, Taidehalli, Helsinki, Finland, Hippolyte Gallery, Helsinki, Finland, Amos Anderson Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland, The Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland, Finnish Museum of Photography, Helsinki, Finland, Helsinki Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland, Spiral Art Center, Tokyo, Japan, Parsons New School Gallery, New York, Women of the World Festival, London, United Kingdom, Kunstplass10, Oslo, Norway, Embassy of Finland, Berlin, Germany, The Fine Art Museum, Murmansk, Russia, and Pink Line Project in Washington D.C.
Elina Suoyrjö works as the Director of Programs at the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York. Her recent work at the institute has focused on notions of care, solidarity, and healing in relation to contemporary art practices, thought through a feminist intersectional lens. She’s also active as an independent curator, writer, and researcher. Her feminist curatorial work builds upon close dialogue and collaboration with artists, most often site- and/or situation-specifically. She’s interested above all in what art does and how art feels. Her recent projects have circled around topics such as magic and witchcraft, ecofeminisms, hydrofeminisms, as well as the creation of transformative energies through curatorial work. Suoyrjö holds an MA in both history of art and gender studies from the University of Helsinki, an MA in curating art from Stockholm University, and a PhD focused on feminist curatorial practices from Middlesex University, London. She has curated events and exhibitions in Stockholm, London, Paris, New York, and Helsinki.