Erna Aaltonen

Erna Aaltonen - Sphères de la céramiste Erna Aaltonen - céramique contemporaine - exposition de céramique contemporaine

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 Erna Aaltonen - Maison des Arts de Châtillon 92 - Erna Aaltonen ceramic - Erna Aaltonene exhibition - Erna Aaltonen for sale

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

la céramiste finlandaise Erna Aaltonen expose à la galerie de céramique contemporaine

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 ceramics- Erna Aaltonen works - Erna Aaltonen exhibition - Erna Aaltonen works - Erna Aaltonen gallery

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

Erna Aaltonen CV

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