VISUAL ARTIST: Emma Ainala

[FreakAnimalFinland]

I remembered I had idea to post some recommendations of artists that may not been noticed by everybody, and I thought I had already started topic or mentioned it, but when did search on forum, didn't see anything.
It was curious to talk to some people and notice nobody I talked to knew about works of Emma Ainala.

I am always a bit surprised about artists who are mostly visible in galleries and museums, but the audience who are passionate about art books, art zines etc... I have no idea if Ainala is featured in such things? Not to mention that some sort of anthology book would be amazing. Even the sketch books you can see in one of the video documentaries looks like I'd by printed version sketchbook in blink on an eye...

Emma Ainala is known for her intricate, detailed works that explore mythologies and a variety of spaces, both physical and digital – some even imagined. The human body, with its ambivalent gestures and expressions, is at the center of the works, being the object of the gaze and objectification are recurring themes. Her dreamlike paintings are at the same time very much in the present and contain references to art and cultural history. The thoughtful symbolism of the interiors of the works and the fragmented, dense surface enable several different interpretations and visits to parallel realities. Ainala's carefully stylized paintings are like performances of some unfinished and mysterious situation.

Emma Ainala (b. 1989, Helsinki, lives and works in Savonlinna, Finland) graduated from the Finnish Academy Fine Arts of Uniarts Helsinki in 2013. She had her first solo museum exhibition at Mikkeli Art Museum in 2017, followed by another one at Jyväskylä Art Museum in 2019, and Hyvinkää Art Museum in 2020. In spring 2018, she was invited to take part in the prestigious Spring Exhibition at Copenhagen's Kunsthalle Charlottenborg. Her works have been widely exhibited in Finland and in Europe. Her works are included in collections such as the art collection of the Saastamoinen Foundation, the Niemistö Collection and Mikkeli Art Museum's collection.

To get started, you can check out gallery at:
https://helsinkicontemporary.com/artist/emma-ainala

Her own site: https://www.emmaainala.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/emmaainala/


Documentary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awoTRHDICAs

[XS]

Good work indeed, didn't know the artist. It reminds me of many artists who are represented by Tim Van Laere Gallery in Antwerp. Like Kati Heck, Dennis Tyfus, Marcel Dzama. It exudes the same atmosphere, only the themes and references are a bit different.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Currently in one of the biggest Finnish museums:
https://kiasma.fi/en/exhibitions/emma-ainala/

Also finally book of her works published.

For finns, YLE interviews her, article came out couple days ago:
https://yle.fi/a/74-20251824

[cr]

This looks very good. Will try to order the book.
Thanks for introduction!

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Book is great! Hardcover, a lot of artwork. All text in Finnish and english. Excellent quality in reproducing the art. Of course originals are huge. Exhibition is well worth going if someone happens to be at helsinki.

Near by also exhibition of Helsinki punk & hardcore 1977-2026. Plenty of stuff there too. Plus Ateneum has exhibition of nordic esoteric female artists which is good as well.

[cr]

Yes, great! Very much recommended.
Book is quite unusual format, almost square. For me, this works just fine.
I was kind of surprised, when I saw the actual size of the paintings. Didn't expect them to be that huge.

[Manhog_84]

As expected, the artworks looked much better in person than in the photos. I wasn't first sure if I like her style or not, but they started to grow on me while looking at all the small details. The big size of paintings helped, and I liked the warped perspectives and overall weird atmosphere.

While flipping through the book, I noticed some of them had annoyingly off-centered title on spine. Some copies were centered correctly. Was it also a bit too washed/too much brightness added to pictures? One my favorite works was No Clean Girls in 2006, and the colors looked a lot better at the exhibition. Like melted candle wax on thighs and ass popped out more. Didn't buy the book yet, but let's see if I become a fan and go see the exhibition again.

The aforementioned other exhibition at Ateneum, "Arcana Borealis", is really good! There's also paintings by Elga Sesemann, that overlap thematically. Some of them are great.