Umppa Niinivaara (b. 1970) lives and works in Karuna. She graduated as a visual artist from Turku Drawing School in 1997 and as a Master of Arts from Winchester School of Art in 2009. “My work as a sculptor is characterised by a wide range of materials and a constant curiosity to discover and learn something new. In recent years, ceramics has become my main means of expression after acquiring my own pottery kiln and my passion is the realisation of large scale sculptures using charming but challenging glazing techniques. My ceramic sculptures are created by hand-building, using compression moulds and casting. Blade firing leaves its own unique imprint on the final result, which is impossible to repeat exactly the same: each piece is unique. The technique is demanding due to the temperature variations of rapid firing, among other things, and the ever-present possibility of the work shattering. The organic forms of my works draw their inspiration from the diversity and phenomena of life both in the pristine forest and on the seabed, which I often see as metaphors for human emotional states and mental movements. My work also expresses my personal longing for the rare peace of endangered, pristine nature. My installations are sculptural, spatial experiences of a sub-surface landscape where time and the outside world disappear.”
Artist’s website
