White Forests, Blue Sky: Two Generations
of Art Textiles, Paper and Metal Constructions
HANCOCK – June 26, 2011
Thursday, June 23, the Finlandia University Art Gallery
was the scene of an exhibit and the opening reception
for Finnish Artist Anna-Riita Haavisto, pictured above
on the right.
The exhibit “White Forests, Blue Sky” is a dual
exhibit that features the work of Finnish artist
Ritta-Liisa Haavisto and the work of her daughter artist
Anna-Riita Haavisto (1930-2009).
The combined exhibit has been traveling
the globe since May 21, 2010 and is now concluding at
the Finlandia University Gallery. “White Forests, Blue
Sky” opened Thursday with a reception for the artist,
Ann-Riita Haavisto and will be open until September 8
when there will be a closing reception at 7:00pm. In
September the artist will return to Finlandia where she
will work with students in the Finlandia International
School of Art and Design.
The exhibit has been a long time in the making stated
Gallery Director, Carrie Flaspohler. The opening of the
exhibit was timed to coincide with the opening of the
Midwest Weavers Convention that also opened Thursday
evening at Finlandia.
Seventy eight year old Finnish artist
Ritta-Liisa Haavisto died in October 2009. She was
internationally known for her beautiful needle work.
Haavisto began stitching after she retired in 1993 from
her career as a successful fashion designer. She was
famous for her imaginative use of color, which can be
seen in her work at the Finlandia exhibit.
Anna-Ritta pointed out that her mother did not use
pencil or pen to sketch out her work prior to the
stitching. She used thread in the same way that she had
used a pencil as a fashion designer.
Ritta-Liisa stitches resemble pencil
strokes. She used varying thicknesses of thread to
accomplish different density in her art. Close
examination of the needlework reveals just how creative
and how imaginary her work is.
Today, Anna-Ritta is an internationally
exhibited artist. She is renowned as a dimensional
artist. Several art pieces at the Finlandia exhibit are
three dimensional puzzles that can be disassemble and
reassembled, although it would not be an easy
undertaking.
As you enter the Finlandia gallery, the first thing you
see is Anna-Ritta's snow blanket, a very large wall
hanging that has a tremendous WOW factor. The piece was
created with crumbled paper and strung with thread
creating a fantastic art piece.
The snow blanket is not the only paper
art in Anna Riita's portfolio. One piece on the wall is
a paper design that represents a box of candy. The mixed
media piece, Sweet Times was inspired by Forrest Gump's
quote that the world is a box of candy.
The Haavistos initially acquired their skills in a
traditional way, learning embroidery and other textile
arts as children from family members.
There are differences in their work. Riitta-Liisa, the
elder Haavisto, creates more representational works,
using jewel-toned fabrics and threads and bold
embroidery, creating scenes inspired by nature and
folklore. Anna-Riitta Haavisto's works is more abstract
in form and more varied in media — paper, fabric, wire,
and plastic. Her works are less varied in terms of
color, favoring whites, browns or limited, unblended
colors. Her works also rely less on stitched
embellishment and more on construction.
While there are differences in the artists' work, there
is also evidence of cross-influence. The stripped-down,
organic style of Anna-Riita, in particular, seems to
have rubbed off on her mother. Riitta-Liisa's "Silent
Wall I" is a small, elegant work of modest materials and
simple construction — layers of brown and white paper
are folded within each other — no stitching is in sight.
The two person exhibits of Riita-Liisa and Anna-Riita
began in 1998 when the artistry of mother and daughter
were exhibited at the Coningsby Gallery, in London,
England. There have been many exhibits since then in
Finland, Germany, Spain, Norway, Canada, England,
Scotland and the U.S.
This is an exhibit that will have wide appeal here in
the Upper Pennsula. The great multi-media work of the
two artists offers something for everyone.
The Finlandia University Gallery is in the
Finnish American Heritage Center, 435 Quincy
Street, Hancock. Gallery hours are Monday to
Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Wednesday,
8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Saturday 12 pm - 4
pm or by appointment. Please call
906-487-7500 for more information.
Polar Bear
Cookbook
Thank you
to everyone who submitted
recipes for the Polar Bear
Hockey Cookbook. The cookbooks
are now available. The cost for
the cookbooks are $10.00 so make
sure to grab one for yourself
and maybe one or two as a gift.
They can be purchased at the Pat
O'Donnel Civic Center concession
stand or by contacting Kerry
Roehm or Micki Sorensen.
