I’m interested in the role of the painting as an instrument, and as an active element in the performative event that occurs between the viewer and the artwork.
The three-dimensionality of the pieces is part of the agency of a painting: the works come out of the surface just enough to disturb the frontal essence of the painting and create this tension between the paintings and their viewer.
It is typical to my works, that the viewer can find it hard to keep stationary to a single position, from which to interpret the work. I use the idea of the viewers motion and repeated searching for a viewing angle as a conscious interruption or disturbance in presenting the work. This makes the viewing situation more temporal.
I am currently painting two-dimensional surfaces and three-dimensional objects in parallel, because I want to detach the experience of three- dimensionality from the ‘modelled form’ and link it instead to the surface of the painting. The three-dimensional works are interventions of sorts, they thrust into the space but conversely they also project space.
Paradoxically, I have noticed that I work with them in opposite directions spatially. I construct two-dimensional works by painting a volume or by piercing the surface. When I paint three-dimensional pieces, I do it optically against a wall. I also personally associate this method with reliefs and the experience of depth in them.
The surfaces in my work do indeed break up and search for direction. For me, the sharp angles are above all points where the surface of the painting makes a turn, disrupting its frontality, which immediately makes the work more interesting. Viewers find themselves in a danger zone or embroiled in something that exists independently of them.
The eventfulness in my works is generally not logical; I am interested in seemingly impossible spatiality. I construct spatial paradoxes into my works, surfaces of collision or friction that seem to lead to a destination. The situation is a bit similar to groping one’s way blindly in a new environment.
There is no point of painterly knowledge or control. The spatial experience of my work cannot be fixed to any single cognitive or experiential point. Instead, the works are loaded with elements that lead to fracture, such as acute angles where the surface of the painting takes a surprising turn. I also deliberately use a forceful stroke technique to give the planes a spatial direction and an accelerating motion. Often, however, this conflicts with the three- dimensionality. I am intrigued by such disturbances or intervention.
I need geometry for some reason. But my geometry is of a kind of cut-and-fold type. Dividing a plane into ever-smaller parts will always involve geometry or mathematics. But I have no interest in systematising the principles of spatial division. I am interested in intuitive progress instead. At the same time, I am very careful to keep the level of experience moving. Instead of constructing interesting forms, I decompose structures of space-time into images, offering viewer-subjects an opportunity to situate themselves more individually within.
PAST
essays
Mieke Bal, Academy Professor, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Inkamaija Iitiä, PhD, researcher of contemporary art
photographs
Jussi Tiainen, Marcus Hansen
graphic design
Helena Sandman, Jussi Niva
translations
Tomi Snellman
paper
Galerie Art Matt 170 g/m2
printer
Kariston Kirjapaino Oy, 2010
acknowledgements
Arts Council of Finland
FRAME, Finnish Fund for Art Exchange
Kordelin Foundation
Gallery Kalhama & Piippo Contemporary
Lars Bohman Gallery
cover
Misplaced (in Yellow), photo: Marcus Hansen
ISBN 978-952-5654-28-8
Download book in .pdf format HERE
essay
Anita Seppä, PhD, Professor of History and Theory of Art, Academy of Fine Arts of the University of the Arts, Helsinki
photographs
Gunter Lepkowski
graphic design
Helena Sandman, Jussi Niva
translations
Tomi Snellman
paper
Galerie Art Silk 170 g/m2
printer
Bookwell, 2016
acknowledgements
Galerie Forsblom
cover
Painting from the series Mime, photo: Gunter Lepkowski
ISBN 97-952-93-6733-7
Download the conversation at Niva’s studio in .pdf format HERE
Download CV in pdf format HERE Niva_CV_2023
BIOGRAPHY (selected)
Born 1966 in Pello, Finland
Lives and works in Helsinki, Finland
STUDIES
1984-89 Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki, Finland
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Galerie Anhava, Helsinki, Finland
2020 Galerie Anhava, Helsinki, Finland
2016 Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland
2014 Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland
2012 Lars Bohman Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
2012 Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland
2009 Lars Bohman Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
2008 Gallery Kalhama & Piippo Contemporary, Helsinki, Finland
2005 Gallery Sculptor, Helsinki, Finland
2004 Gallery Heino, Helsinki, Finland
2002 Gallery Kari Kenetti, Helsinki, Finland
2001 The Aine Art Museum, Tornio, Finland
2000 Viive gallery, Rovaniemi, Finland
2000 Ama gallery, Turku, Finland
1999 Gallery Kari Kenetti, Helsinki, Finland
1997 Galerie Artek, Helsinki, Finland
1995 Lars Bohman Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
1994 Galerie Artek, Helsinki, Finland
1994 Galerie Quartair, The Hague, The Netherlands
1992 Galerie Gebauer u. Günther, Berlin, Germany
1991 Galerie Artek, Helsinki, Finland
1990 Kluuvi Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024
Konkretismi. Geometrische Wirklichkeiten, Constructivist art from Finland from the 1950s to present day, Samsung Peters-Messer, Viersen, Germany
Experiments in Concretism, EMMA, Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo, Finland
Extraordinary Form. Abstract and nonfigurative art from Miettinen Collection, Salon Dahlman, Berlin, Germany
Near – Collection exhibition curated by young people, The Aine Art Museum, Tornio, Finland
2023
Fortune Coincidences – Lars Göran Johnsson Collection, Turku Art Museum, Turku, Finland
Art in Space – Space in Art, Sara Hildén Art Museum, Tampere, Finland
The Swanljung Collection – Follow Your Heart, Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art, Vaasa, Finland
Yrjö Kukkapuro – Magic Room, EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo, Finland
2022
XXVI Mänttä Art Festival, Mänttä, Finland
Variations, Rovaniemi Art Museum, Rovaniemi, Finland
Market Art Fair, with Galerie Anhava, Liljevalchs Konsthalle, Stockholm, Sweden
2021
Sculptural. Painting., Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne, Germany
Selected works from Galerie Anhava artists, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki, Finland
2020
Abstract Art from the Miettinen Collection, Berlin Art Week, Salon Dahlmann, Berlin, Germany
Art Matters, Online Only Group Exhibition, Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne, Germany
The Way We Are 2.0, Weserburg Museum of Modern Art, Bremen, Germany
2019
The Space of Painting, Philipp von Rosen Galerie, Cologne, Germany
Art Düsseldorf / Galerie Anhava, Düsseldorf, Germany
Out of Office, Sara Hildén Art Museum, Tampere, Finland
Shared Dreams, Works from the Heino Art Foundation Collection, Oulu Museum of Art, Oulu, Finland
2018
Offspace, Zsófi Barabás – Jussi Niva, Gallery Faur Zsófi, Budapest, Hungary
Ich bin ein Riss, ich will durch Wände gehen, Salon Dahlmann, Berlin, Germany
Two-Way Ahead, Jussi Niva – Juri Markkula, Hanaholmen Gallery, Espoo, Finland
Imaginary Meeting, Rovaniemi Art Museum Korundi, Rovaniemi, Finland
Killing Me Softly, Works from the Miettinen Collection, Salon Dahlmann, Berlin, Germany
2017
Signature, Habitare, Messukeskus, Helsinki, Finland
Nokia’s Donation, Emma, Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo, Finland
Dreamaholic – Art from Finland. Miettinen Collection, Weserburg Museum of Modern Art, Bremen, Germany
2016
In Wonderland, Salon Dahlmann, Berlin, Germany
Living Collection: Facing the Public, Sara Hildén Art Museum, Tampere, Finland
From Heino With Love, Helsinki Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland
2015
Clear Form, Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland
Touch, EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo, Finland
Summer Exhibition, Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland
2014
Splendid Views, Salon Dahlmann, Berlin, Germany
Vinternatt, Lars Bohman Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
Black Market – Sand in Vaseline, L17 project space, Berlin, Germany
Black Market Sinne, Sinne, Helsinki, Finland
Feel the Spirit, EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo, Finland
Unknown Masterpieces, Wonderloch Kellerland, Berlin, Germany
Black Market Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
Space – Abstract Intervention & Social Media, Salon Dahlmann, Berlin, Germany
2013
Kiasma Hits, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland
Events in Nature, EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo, Finland
The 7th Wave – Wihuri and Visual Art, Lönnström Art Museum, Rauma, Finland
Sommerprogramm, Salon Dahlmann, Berlin, Germany
Panorama, Lars Bohman Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
Summer 2013, Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland
2012
The Magic of Lapland, Korundi, Rovaniemi Art Museum, Rovaniemi, Finland
The 7th Wave – Wihuri and Visual Art, Kunsthallen, Helsinki, Finland
Art Market / Galerie Forsblom, Stockhol, Sweden
The Armory Show / Galerie Forsblom, New York, USA
2011
Kesä – Sommar – Summer 2011, Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland
Know the Landscape, Jyväskylä Art Museum, Finland
The Magic of Lapland, Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland
Spatial Places: The Poetry Of Places, Fiskars village, Finland
2009
ArtHelsinki 09 / Gallery Kalhama & Piippo Contemporary, Helsinki, Finland
Flash! – Light and Movement, Sara Hildén Art Museum, Tampere, Finland
I Love Malmö, Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn, Estonia
Swanljung Meets Malmö, Malmö Art Museum, Malmö, Sweden
The Site of Painting, Pori Art Museum, Pori, Finland
Carnegie Art Award, Centre International d´Art Contemporain, Carros, France
2008
Kuvan jälkeen, Image and after, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland
Carnegie Art Award, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Høvikodden / Oslo, Norway; Den Frie Udstilling Copenhagen, Denmark; Listasafn Kópavogs, Kópavogur / Reykjavík, Iceland; Konstakademien, Stockholm, Sweden; Royal College of Art, London, UK, Göteborgs konstmuseum, Gothenbourg, Sweden
Tuhlaajapojan paluu, Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art, Vaasa, Finland
2007
Carnegie Art Award, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland
Taiteilijatiloja, Jugend-sali, Helsinki, Finland
Maalaus ja valokuva ja maalaus, Korjaamo Culture Factory, Helsinki, Finland
I love Malmö, Turun taidemuseo, Turku; Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art, Vaasa, Finland
Kuntsin ikonit 1, Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art, Vaasa, Finland
2006
Suspended E-motion, Galerija Vartai, Vilnius, Lithuania
2005
Vastamaalattu – Painture Fraiche!, Kerava Art Museum, Kerava, Finland
Työnimi: Heijastuksia, Korjaamo Culture Factory, Helsinki, Finland
Stockholm Art Fair / Galleria Heino, Stockholm, Sweden
X Mänttä Art Festival, Mänttä, Finland
Purnu 2005, Orivesi, Finland
2004
Vastamaalattu – Peinture Fraiche!, Le Triage, Nanterre, France
Talviunia – Hibernations, The Rovaniemi Art Museum, Rovaniemi, Finland
2003
Maisema nyt, Mikkeli Art Museum, Mikkeli, Finland
2002
Over the Horizon, Malmö konstmuseum, Malmö, Sweden
2001
Soome Nûûdiskunst – Kekarainen – Niva – Vuokola, Eesti Kunstimuuseumi, Tallinn, Estonia
Interface – Kosketuspintoja, Suomen taiteen III triennaali, Göteborg
Konstmuseum, Göteborg, Sweden & Helsingin taidehalli, Helsinki, Finland
2000
Europe – Different Perspectives in Painting, Museo Michetti, Francavilla al Mare, Italy
Pohjoismainen postmodernismi, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland
100 VR-makasiini, Helsinki, Finland
Berlin Art Fair / Galleria Kari Kenetti, Berlin, Germany
1999
Carnegie Art Award, Kunsthalle, Helsinki, Finland; Listasafn Islands, Reykjavik, Icela
Finnish Line: Starting Point, Musées de Strassbourg, Strassbourg, France
Pohjoinen maisema, Salo Art Museum, Salo, Finland
Kekarainen – Niva – Vuokola, The Finnish Museum of Photography, Helsinki, Finland
Frankfurt Art Fair / Galleria Kari Kenetti, Frankfurt, Germany
1998
Carnegie Art Award, Konstakademien, Stockholm, Sweden; Sophienholm
Copenhagen, Denmark; Stenersenmuseet, Oslo, Norway
Stockholm Art Fair / Galleria Kari Kenetti, Tukholma
1997
Galleri Wynick / Tuck, Toronto, Canada
Art goes kapakka, Restaurant Taidehalli, Helsinki, Finland
TAiDETTA, Konstens hus, Luleå, Sweden
Kari Cavén – Henrietta Lehtonen – Jussi Niva, Galleria Kari Kenetti, Helsinki, Finland
1996
TAiDETTA, Karlskrona Konsthall, Karlskrona, Sweden; Västerås
Konstmuseum, Västerås, Sweden; Norrköpings Konstmuseum, Norrköping, Sweden;
Skövde Konsthall, Skövde, Sweden; Värmlands Museum, Karlstad, Sweden
Konst I hemmiljö The Nordic Institute for Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland
Comp I Box, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki, Finland
Enter, Kunsthalle, Helsinki, Finland
1995
ARS-95, Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland
Air Water Earth, Takaoka Art Museum, Takaoka; Fukuyama Museum of Art,
Fukuyama, Japan; Turun taidemuseo, Turku, Finland
Galerie Löhrl, Mönchengladbach, Germany
1994
Ennakkoluuloja – Fördomar, Östergötland Country Museum, Lindköping, Sweden; Oulu City Art useum, Oulu, Finland; Örebro länsmuseum, Örebro, Sweden; Landskrona konsthall, Landskrona, Sweden; Museum for Contemporary art, Warsaw, Poland; Museum for Contemporary art, Vilnius, Lithuania
Nordisk Önskemuseum, Göteborg Museum of Art, Göteborg, Sweden
8 rum till måleri, Galleri F 15 Alby, Moss, Norway
Grreen, Tourch Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Nina Roos – Jussi Niva, Sara Hildén Art Museum, Tampere, Finland
Air Water Earth, The Azabu Museum for Arts and Crafts, Tokio, Japan
1993
Fünf Bilder, Galerie Gebauer u. Günther, Berlin, Germany
XLV La Biennale di Venezia, Nordic Pavilion, Venice, Italy
Entrée, The Lönnström Art Museum, Rauma, Finland
Valintoja, Sara Hildén Art Museum, Tampere, Finland
Transit, The National Museum of Finland, Helsinki, Finland
Ennakkoluuloja – Fördomar, Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm;
The Nordic Institute for Contemporary, Art, Helsinki, Finland
1992
Välimatkoja – Avstånd, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland
Documenta IX, Kassel, Germany
Rakkautta raunioilla, Tampere Museum of Contemporary Art, Tampere, Finland
Finlandi Dá -92, Stockholm, Sweden
Tidsanda, Malmö Art Museum, Malmö, Sweden
Frankfurt Art Fair / Galerie Gebauer u. Günther, Germany
1991
Seeing, Näkeminen, Pori Art Museum, Pori, Finland
Tillstand Switches, Stedhalle, Zürich, Switzerland
Face to Face – Ars Baltica Prolog, Kunsthalle zu Kiel / Stadgalerie im
Sophienhof, Kiel, Germany; Kunsthalle Latvija, Museum of Foreign Art, Riga, Latvia;
Künstlerhaus Bethanien / Kunst-Werke, Berlin, Germany
Aurora 4, The Nordic Institute for Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland; Kulturhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
1990
Finnish Visions, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, Norway
1989
Finnish Painters´union 60th aniversary exhibition, The Nordic Institute for Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland; Pori Art Museum, Pori, Finland
PUBLIC ART WORKS
2022 Cover, Hotel AX, Helsinki, Finland
2010 M in Us, Vasakronan, Stockholm, Sweden [ Link to project page HERE ]
1999 Expose #43-46, Finnish Embassy, Berlin, Germany
1998 Expose, Vuosaari metro station, Helsinki, Finland
COLLECTIONS
Aine Art Museum, Tornio, Finland
The City of Tampere, Finland
EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Finland
The Finnish State Art Collection
Heino Art Collection, Finland
HAM – Helsinki Art Museum, Finland
HUS, Helsinki, Finland
Hämeenlinna Art Museum, Finland
Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, Rovaniemi, Finland
Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland
Lars Göran Johnsson Collection, Finland
Malmö Art Museum, Sweden
Mauri Niemi Collection, Finland
Miettinen Collection, Germany
The National Public Art Council, Sweden
Oulu City Art Museum, Finland
Pori Art Museum, Finland
The Rafaela and Kaj Forsblom Collection, Finland
Saastamoinen Foundation, Finland
Sara Hildén Art Museum, Finland
Swanljung Collection, Finland
Turku Art Museum, Finland
AWARDS
2009 Fine Arts Association of Finland, William Thuring Prize
1998 Carnegie Art Awards, Scholarship to a young artist
1996 Young Art Finland Prize
Heikinheimo, Saara. 2023. ”Maalaus ei ehkä ole esittävä, mutta se on aina esittäjä – Jussi Nivan haastattelu” SAHIM, Tampere.
(Julkaisun voi tilata sähköpostitse TÄSTÄ )
Valjakka, Timo. 2023. ”Taidetta silmälle ja mielelle”, Helsingin Sanomat, 21.1.2023.
Valjakka, Timo. 2020. ”Kysymyksiä näkemisen luonteesta”, Helsingin Sanomat, 23.1.2020.
Bal, Mieke. 2016. ”Movement and the still Image”, Espacio Tiempo y Forma, 4, Madrid, Spain. [ Download text in pdf format HERE ]
Seppä, Anita. 2016. ”Jussi Niva and Anita Seppä, Conversation at Niva’s studio in Berlin, 23.11.2015”, Mime, Helsinki, Finland
Verhoeff, Nanna. 2012. ”Mobile Screens – The Visual Regime of Navigation”, Amsterdam University press, Amsterdam, p. 167-168
Bal, Mieke. 2010. ”Timely Remains”, Jussi Niva – Timely Remains, Helsinki.
Iitiä, Inkamaija. 2010. ”The Space of Representation and Postmodern Stage: Jussi Niva´s Exposes”,
Jussi Niva – Timely remains, Helsinki.
Iitiä, Inkamaija. 2008. ”Kuvan jälkeen”. Kuvan jälkeen. Image and after, Nyktaiteen museon julkaisua 109/ 2008,
Helsinki, p. 42-43.
Iitiä, Inkamaija. 2008. Käsitteellisestä ruumiilliseen, sitaatiosta paikkaan – maalaustaide ja nykytaiteen historia,
Helsinki, p. 264-272.
Roos, Rita. 2006. ”I Spy with My Eyes” Critique, Veenman Publishers/Gijs Stork, Rotterdam.
Kalhama, Pilvi. 2005. “Vuorovaikutusta väritilassa – Jussi Nivan Fine Tuning – sarjan dialogisia tulkintoja”,
Kanssakäymisiä, Osallistuvan taiteen tutkimuksen askelia 32, Helsinki.
Kalhama, Pilvi. 2002. ”Suomalainen nykymaalaus ja katsomisen haaste”, Pinx Maalaustaide Suomessa:
Siveltimen vetoja, Weiling+Göös, Espoo, p.280-287.
Kantokorpi, Otso. 2003. “Kuvan katoava taajuus”, Kosketuspintoja, Helsinki.
Haapala, Leevi. 2003. “Valomaalarit ja sähköinen valo”, Pinx maalaustaide Suomessa : Siveltimen vetoja,
Weiling+Göös, Espoo, p. 280-287.
Valjakka, Timo. 2000. ”Maalaus ja miten sitä katsotaan” Jussi Niva, Expose, Helsinki.
van der Heeg, Eerik. 1999. ”Kekarainen – Niva – Vuokola”, The Finnish Museum of Photography, Helsinki.
Castern, Hannu. “Painting Beyond the Eye and Frame”, Form Function Finland, 1/95
Valjakka, Timo. 1993 ”XLV La Biennale di Venezia, Melin Niva Stokke”
Thordeman, Thord. “Venezia!”, Paletten 3/93
Sandqvist, Gertrud. “Jussi Niva”, Siksi, 2/92