Kirsi Kivivirta

Ceramic artist Kirsi Kivivirta is inspired by the surrounding urban landscape and its different spaces. She uses geometry, perspective and visual illusions when creating her imagery. The references to landscapes in the artworks speak about the relationship between urban humans and nature, with wildlife assigned only to memories. Kivivirta is drawn to minimalist ideas that enable the medium to speak for itself. In Kivivirta’s porcelain wall compositions, one can experience movement and rest, dynamic force and contemplation. She plays with displacement and trompe l’oeil effects as well as distorted perspectives and horizons.

Kirsi Kivivirta

“There is a tremendous potential in raw materials and natural resources. Clay as a primordial raw material is a powerful and expressive medium. As an artist, I am on a journey to explore and understand the natural properties of clay and the firing process. My palette is limited, shades of white and gray, blacks, natural pigments and metallic oxides.

As I create art, I move effortlessly into a familiar existence. My work is a kind of composition process, moving pieces around, in which various elements look for their own places and their dynamics. My intention is also to reduce or eliminate factors and so to express the essential.”