Erna Aaltonen
Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste is pleased to represent Erna Aaltonen and to host her solo exhibitions in France.
Renown for the effects of the material, Erna Aaltonen’s œuvre has never ceased to evolve, guided by this perpetual quest for beauty and expressivity. Outwith spheres, her taste for curves has led her to make more abstract sculptures shown for the first time at Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste in autumn 2018.
Pure forms inspired by nature, finely worked surfaces as sober as graphs, subtle nuances of colour which change with the light, both classic and very contemporary, the pieces of Erna Aaltonen (born in Loimaa in 1951) have the elegant sobriety of timeless masterpieces.
Form, Surface and Colour are the watchwords of this Finnish artist, who was introduced to ceramics in 1981, whilst studying at the Kuopio Academy of Design under Heikki Jylhä-Vuorio. It was in 1986 that she decided to devote herself fully to ceramics. After serving her apprenticeship in the colour laboratory of the Arabia Porcelain Factory in Helsinki, Erna Aaltonen worked as an assistant to artists such as Kati Tuominen-Niittylä, Jun Kaneko and Howard Smith, who became her companion and with whom she created the Arteos Studio at Tervakoski, in 1988.
It was in 1996 that the artist took the plunge. It was then that she moved into her own studio at Fiskars ; a small, former blacksmith village lost in the countryside an hour from Helsinki, and where other creators, craftsmen and designers had chosen to make their homes. It is here that, throughout the past 20 years, she has created a collection of unique pieces which together comprise a very coherent ensemble. A true family of pieces, of which the forms – not only round, but also oblong or ovoid decrease towards infinity in a wide variety of sizes and tints. These coloured Spheres, (which the creator sometimes calls ‘Pearls’ or ‘Globes’) open on their summit like the straight neck of a vase or the stalk of a fruit, certainly count among the artist’s most emblematic creations. […]
Guillaume Morel
Journalist & Art Critic.
Extract from the catalogue of the exhibition ” Erna Aaltonen, la symphonie des sphères – Erna Aaltonen – The Symphony of Spheres“, Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste, July-September 2015
ERNA AALTONEN – RECENT EXHIBITIONS
Erna Aaltonen exhibition in France at Maison des Arts de Chatillon in 2019. Photo Anthony Girardi.
2023
- Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste, France
2021
- Gallery Marianne Heller, Heidelberg, Allemagne
2020
- Musée la Piscine Roubaix France
2019
- “Céramique Contemporaine. Maison des Arts de Chatillon. France
2018
- Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste, Toucy France.
- The Salon Art+Design, with J. Lohmann Gallery, New York, USA
2017
- “Collective Design“, J. Lohmann Gallery, New York, USA
2016
- Puls Contemporary Ceramics, Brussels, Belgium
Exhibition Erna Aaltonen for the Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste in Toucy (F) – June 2015. Photos © Anne Nguyen Dao.
2015
- Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste, Toucy, Burgundy, France
- Premio Faenza 59°, exposition des artistes finalistes, MIC Faenza, Italy
2014
- Bronda Art Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
- Puls Contemporary Ceramics, Brussels, Belgium
- Ceramics and Space, Contemporary Finnish Ceramics, Design Museum, Helsinki Finland
- Helsinki Fat Clay in Heidelberg, Gallery Marianne Heller, Germany
2013
- Premio Faenza 58°, finalists show, Museo Internationale delle Ceramiche, Faenza, Italy
- Joy, 20ème Exposition d’été de la Fiskars Cooperative, Finland
2012
- IAC / International Academy of Ceramics, members show, Santa Fe, USA
- Helsinki Fat Clay in Faenza, MIC, Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche, Faenza, Italy
- Helsinki Fat Clay in Milano, Galleria Officine Saffi, Italy
- New and Classics, Budapest Design Week, Hungary
- Nostalgia, Hedge Gallery, San Francisco, USA
Erna Aaltonen works exhibited in 2019 at Maison des Arts de Châtillon. Photo Anthony Girardi
2011
- Cheongju International Craft Biennale, Korea
- Tools, Granary, Fiskars, Finland
2010
- Luksus 09, Artothèque de Caen, France
- In the Woods…, Gallery Norsu’s 5-years jubileums exhibition, Helsinki, Finland
- Kylässä – Visiting, Taitokortteli, Joensuu, Finland
- Feuer und Eis, Keramikmuseum Westerwald, Höhr-Grenzhausesen, Germany
- Feuer und Eis, Galerie Marianne Heller, Heidelberg, Germany
2009
- Galleri Inger Molin, Stockholm, Sweden
- Heijastuksia – Återseende – Second sight, Kuparipaja, Fiskars, Finland
- Re-interpriting Nature, a Design Forum exhibition in the Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest, Hungary
- Återseende – Second sight, Bryggeriet i Nora, Sweden
- Luksus 09, Design Forum Finland, Helsinki, Finland
- Fiskars Design Village, Centro Cultural Santo Dominique, Oaxaca, Mexico
- Matka – a Journey, Gallery Norsu, Helsinki, Finland
2008
- Gallery Norsu, Helsinki, Finland
- Gallery 5, Oulu, Finland
- Ceramic Art Museum of Scandinavia, Fule International Ceramic Art Museums,
Fuping, China - Fiskars Design Village, Museo Franz Mayer, Mexico City
2007
- Carlin Gallery, Paris, France
BIBLIOGRAPHY (recent publications)
- “Erna Aaltonen, la Symphonie des Sphères”, catalogue de l’exposition, Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste, 2015.
- “Les fruits de la terre d’Erna Aaltonen”, Connaissance des Arts, N° 739, juil.-août 2015. Lire l’article
- “ Erna Aaltonen à la Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste”, L’OEIL, N° 681, Eté 2015. Lire l’article
- 58° Premio Faenza, MIC, édition, Italie, 2013
- Ceramics, Art and Perception (périodique), USA, nr.91/2013, article
- 2012 IAC/AIC Académie Internationale de la Céramique, catalogue d’exposition.
- Helsinki Fat Clay, catalogue 2012
- TD TaideDesign (ArtDesign) Finland 1/2012 article
- Cheongju International Craft Biennale 2011/ Craft & Design from Finland, catalogue 2011
AWARDS
2015 59 th Faenza Prize, Mention d’Honneur et médaille d’or du Musée International de la Céramique – MIC de Faenza (Italy)
2014 Grand Prix du Design de l’Etat Finlandais. (Finland)
Exhibition Erna Aaltonen. Galerie de l’Ancienne Poste. Toucy (F) – July 2015. Photos © Anne Nguyen Dao
PUBLIC & PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
- La Piscine, musée d’art et d’industrie André Diligent, Roubaix, France
- Musée Ariana Geneva, Switzerland
- Museum Bojmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Holand
- Kecskemét International Ceramics Studio, Hungary
- 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, Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, Finland
- Höganäs Museum, Sweden
- Arabia Museum, Helsinki, Finland
- Pyynikinlinna, Tampere, Finland
- State Art Collection, Finland
- State Art Collection, Sweden
- Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
- Fortum Art Foundation, Finland
- Nordic Investment Bank, Helsinki, Finland
- Handelsbanken Art Society, Sweden
- Tällberg Art Society, Sweden
- Öläns Landsting, Sweden
- Västerbotten county, Sweden
- Astra Zeneca, Sweden
- Agora, Sweden
- FILHA, Finnish Lung Health Association, Helsinki, Finland
- Private collections in several European countries plus USA Japan and Korea
