Erna Aaltonen
Form, surface and color are the watchwords of Finnish artist Erna Aaltonen (b. Loimaa, 1951), who was introduced to ceramics in 1981, while studying with Heikki Jylhä-Vuorio at the Kuopio Academy of Design. She decided to devote herself fully to ceramics in 1986. After completing her apprenticeship at the Arabia Porcelain Factory colour Laboratory in Helsinki, Erna Aaltonen went on to work as an assistant to artists such as Kati Tuominen-Niittylä, Jun Kaneko and Howard Smith, with whom she later established the Arteos studio in Tervakoski in 1988.
It was in 1996 that the artist took the plunge. That year, she set up her own workshop in Fiskars, an old blacksmith's village lost in the middle of nowhere, an hour's drive from Helsinki, where other creators, craftsmen and designers have made their homes. There, she has created a collection of one-off pieces that form a coherent whole.
A true family of works, whose forms—round, but also oblong or ovoid—are endlessly adapted in a beautiful variety of sizes and hues. These colorful Spheres, open at the top like the narrow neck of a vase or the stalk of a fruit, are undoubtedly among the ceramicist's most iconic creations. In addition to Spheres, the artist’s taste for curves also led her to create Monolith sculptures, more abstract, these possess more irregular and complex forms, yet remain consistently characterized by great delicacy.
Erna Aaltonen gained international recognition for her ceramic work in the 2000s.
Galerie de l'Ancienne Poste has represented the artist exclusively in France since 2015.
Public and private collections
- La Piscine, André Diligent Museum of Art and Industry, Roubaix, France
- Museum Bojmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands
- Fule International Ceramic Museums, Fuping, China
- Museum für die Sammlung Keramik International, Römhild, Germany
- Design Museum, Helsinki, Finland
- Hämeenlinna Art Museum, Finland
- Rovaniemi Art Museum, Finland
- enny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, Finland
- Höganäs Museum, Sweden
- Sweden Arabia Museum, Helsinki, Finland
- Pyynikinlinna, Tampere, Finland
- National Art Collection, Finland
- National Art Collection, Sweden
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs from Finland
- Nordic Investment Bank, Helsinki, Finland
Solo exhibitions at the gallery
Erna Aaltonen - recent works
Erna Aaltonen - Beyond the spheres
Erna Aaltonen - Symphony of the Spheres
Publications
Main recent exhibitions
2024
Salon Art + Design 2024, J. Lohmann Gallery, New York, USA
Summer Group Show, Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste, Toucy, France
2023
« Œuvres récentes », Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste, Toucy, France
2022
Family of Objects, Bojmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
« 25 ans de la Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste », Maison du Chanoine, Treigny, Franceµ
2021
Galerie Marianne Heller, Heidelberg, Germany
2020
Carte Blanche à la Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste, Musée La Piscine, Roubaix, France
« Ensemble – Together », Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste, Toucy, France
SOFA Chicago, USA with J.Lohmann Gallery (New York)
2019
« Céramique Contemporaine », Maison des Arts de Châtillon, Hauts-de-Seine, France
2018
« Au-delà des Sphères », Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste, Toucy, France
« About Clay« , curator for European Ceramic Art Exhibition, Onoma, Fiskars, Finland
2017
« Collective Design », J. Lohmann Gallery, New York, USA
2016
Puls Contemporary Ceramics, Brussels, Belgium
2015
Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste, Toucy, France
Premio Faenza 59°, exhibition of the finalists, MIC Faenza, Italy
2014
Ceramics and Space, Contemporary Finnish Ceramics, Design Museum, Helsinki
Helsinki Fat Clay in Heidelberg, Gallery Marianne Heller, Germany
Bronda Art Gallery, Helsinki
Puls Contemporary Ceramics, Brussels, Belgium
2013
Premio Faenza 58°, finalists show, Museo Internationale delle Ceramiche, Faenza, Italy
2012
Nostalgia, solo show, Hedge Gallery, San Francisco, USA
IAC / International Academy of Ceramics, members show, Santa Fe, USA
Erna Aaltonen at the Maison des Arts de Chatillon in 2018
Erna Aaltonen at La Piscine museum in Roubaix in 2020
Erna Aaltonen at the Maison du Chanoine in 2022
