29.5.—21.6.2026

The exhibition Hourglass examines the emergence of form and the ways in which the working process makes the passage of time visible. In her works, Riikka Puronen reflects on scale, perception, and the construction of sculpture: how mould, material, and movement together generate the work.

Traditionally in sculpture, the mould has functioned as a tool intended to reproduce an object precisely and ultimately remain invisible, even breaking in the process. Yet the hollow interior of the mould already begins to take shape as its own three-dimensional space before casting takes place. In Hourglass, this quality of the mould becomes the point of departure for the works. In the Clay Slabs series, impressions pressed into the clay function as traces of events and movement.

The ceramic works in the exhibition have been created using 3D-printed moulds. Clay is pressed into the mould and removed while still wet, allowing gravity, drying, and movement to continue shaping the surface and structure. The behaviour of the material remains visible in the finished work: the clay records the structure of the mould as well as the impressions, stretches, and traces of movement created during the working process.

The exhibition also includes small sculptures cast in tin that repeat the forms of the Clay Slabs reliefs in three dimensions. Each casting is unique. The small-scale sculptures resemble amulets or portable objects — personal symbols, memories, and signs. In the Alphabets series, the suggestive forms evoke hand gestures and signs, as well as the ways meaning can emerge even before spoken language.

Riikka Puronen (b. 1968) is known for the richness of her materials and shifts in scale. In recent years, she has focused particularly on 3D technologies. Puronen graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in 1996, and since 1992 she has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Finland and abroad, in addition to holding twenty solo exhibitions.

Puronen’s public sculpture Compass and Stars was commissioned by the HAM Helsinki Art Museum and completed in Kalasatama, Helsinki, in 2018. She is currently working on the public sculpture Roots of Vitality (Juuret elämänvoima), commissioned by the State Art Commissionfor the Tampere Police Station.

Alongside her artistic practice, Puronen worked as a lecturer in sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts from 2007 to 2017. She has received the Young Finland Award (1997) and the William Thuring Prize (2010). Her works are included in several collections, including the Finnish State Art Collection, the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Collection, and the collections of HAM Helsinki Art Museum.

Puronen is currently working with the support of a three-year artist grant from the Arts Promotion Centre Finland. The exhibition has been supported by the Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike).

www.riikkapuronen.com

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