Ville Andersson

http://www.villeandersson.com/

https://www.instagram.com/villeand/

Ville Andersson (b. 1986, Loviisa, Finland) lives and works in Helsinki, Finland. Andersson graduated from the Finnish Academy of Fine Art in the spring of 2012. He has exhibited actively in both collective and solo exhibitions in Finland and abroad, including at:EMMA - Espoo Museum of Modern Art; Helsinki Contemporary gallery, Helsinki; Vitraria Glass + A Museum, Venice; ARCOmadrid,Madrid; and RARE Gallery, New York.

In 2015 he was named the Young Artist of the Year in Finland. Young Artist of the Year is one of the biggest and best known Finnish art awards. He held two solo museum exhibitions the same year, at Tampere Art Museum and at Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova Museum.Among other awards include: Stina Krook Foundation Award in 2012 and the Anita Snellman Foundation Stipend in 2012. In 2014 he was nominated a finalist for the annual Spanish Art Critics Association Award at ARCO Madrid.

Andersson's works are in several public collections, including Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Finnish Art Society,Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection, the Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art and the Amos Anderson Art Museum.

PRIZES AND NOMINATIONS

2016

･ Antalis Design & Print Awards

2015

･ Young Artist of the Year

2014

･ The exhibition catalogue My Little Empire was chosen as one of the most beautiful books of the year 2014 by the Finnish Book Art Committee, graphic design by Chris Bolton.

･ ARCO – Spanish Art Critics Association (AECA) Award/ finalist

2012

･ Grönqvistska stiftelsen Prize

･ Grant Anita Snellman Foundation Prize

2011

･ Stina Krook Foundation Prize

･ Japan Media Arts Festival - Jury Selection works, Tokyo

2010

･ Photokina – Best Stand Jury Prize, Academy of Fine Arts

--Please tell us about yourself. 

My name is Ville Andersson and I am a visual artist. I work with different techniques, mostly with painting, drawing and photography. However, I do not want to restrict myself in any way so I am constantly curious and interested in trying new things. For instance, during this winter I created the costume- & set design for a theatre play in Finland.

--What is the concept and highlight of the exhibition? 

Every other year, I try to create a new series of artworks. For each new series I want to try something completely new. The exhibition at DIESEL ART GALLERY is a collection of my artworks from different years and series. This compilation is a kind of an introduction to the world of mine.

--Your artworks are mainly emphasized by the color spectrum, limited to black, white and gray. How did you develop this style? 

I want to reduce things I find unnecessary. I try to focus only on the elements that are essential for an image. I deal a lot with silence in my art. For me, a whisper can sometimes be more powerful than a loud shout. Also, black and white is for me a way of transcending the ordinary.

--Can you give us an overview of the art scene in Finland? 

In Helsinki, the capital of Finland, where I live the art scene is very strong and diverse. Even if the city is quite small, there are a lot of things going on all the time and most of the artists have a very unique visual language. I like to surprise myself and see something new every day and the art galleries here are perfect for doing that.

--Please tell us about the process to get artworks completed. What is most important to you in the process? 

I guess the process could be roughly divided in the 3 parts. The 1st part is to let the imagination and creativity flow freely. Gradually, I choose the ideas and themes I want to deal with. In other words, I begin by creating a framework for me - a kind of a conceptual structure within which to work. The 2nd part is, to deal with the practical questions regarding those ideas: Where should I do the photo shoot? What materials should I use? Where will I find the budget? etc. The 3rd part is to do it! 

What you see in photography also always exists in reality. For instance, if I create a photo with a dancer, I may paint the whole body white and build the set design piece by piece in a studio. Besides the actors and dancers, I mostly work alone. is to do it! 

--You received an award “Young Artist of the year 2015” as a youngest winner they have ever had. How did you become interested in art? Why did you decide to become an artist? 

I was born in the countryside in a very small village. I had to use a lot of my own imagination and creativity to find things to do. My mother was an art teacher in a school so she used to bring a lot of art books home. Still today, when I visit museums I can remember many of those artworks from my childhood. I used to love browsing trough those books and imagine myself visiting all the places I saw in the pictures. Later, I started dreaming about becoming an art collector when I grow up. However, when I grew older I realized I needed to start studying art so I can create the collection myself. That is something I am still doing today.

--What is the most favorite one among all your artworks? 

That is a very difficult question. I guess, all of them have a certain place in my heart. However, the most recent series of artworks tends to be the ones that I like the most. So, when I create a new series that one automatically becomes my favorite.

--When do you most likely come up with the idea of your artwork? What is your inspiration? 

Basically, everything around me. I don't follow just visual art, but for instance: fashion, movies, literature, theatre, design and dance. My own emotions are a good source of inspiration. I guess the actual artworks are a mixture between the things that inspire me and my own internal feelings.

--Is there any particular message you intend to tell us through your artworks? 

One task I often have to deal with is how to make the private also public. If I use my own emotions as a tool, the end result must be something also other people can relate to. I try to use a disciplined, clear and precise form of expression to achieve an open, nuanced end result - one that respects the viewer.

--Do you have any book, music or movie that influenced you? 

So many! I am a great consumer of all sorts of culture. Because I currently have an exhibition in Tokyo I can mention some of my favorite Japanese artists: I like the works by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Kazuo Ohno, Tadao Ando, Yasujiro Ozu and Kenya Hara very much - just to name a few. There are so many inspiring things coming from Japan, also in terms of fashion and visual art.

Besides the contemporary culture, there is the more traditional side of the Japanese culture I am fascinated by: Haiku poetry, Kabuki- & Noh theatre, Sumi-e, Ikebana etc. The traditional Japanese aesthetic principles of Kanso, Fukinsei, Shibui/Shibumi, Shizen, Yugen, Datsuzoku, Seijaku are concepts that I find very interesting.

--Do you have any artists that you respect? 

One of my all time favorite artists is Robert Wilson. He is best known as a theatre director but also works as a visual artist. In terms of music, I like Philip Glass and David Bowie very much. Both of them are artists who have constantly been interested in new things and have not been afraid of reinventing themselves. That is an attitude towards work that I also try to follow. At the moment, I am watching the movies by the director Ingmar Bergman. I like how he is capable of portraying the internal and existential questions of human life.

--How do you spend your day-off? 

I like to take long walks. Especially in new cities when I have free time, I try to visit as many parks as possible. Also in Tokyo, I visited many parks. For example: Rikugi-en gardens, Hamarikyu gardens, Korakuen garden, Yanaka cemetery, Yoyogi park, Shinjuku Goyen National Garden. I was especially happy to see some of the trees already in bloom.

--How was your first visit to Japan? How did you feel? Is there anything that inspired you? 

I have been interested in Japan for years. The visit exceeded all of my expectations and I loved every part of it. There are so many things I could talk about, but just as a small example: one of my new friends took me to Nakano Broadway and introduced me to the world of Japanese comics and cartoons. The experience opened a huge new visual world to me. I hope I can come back to Japan soon again. This first visit to Japan will for sure also be a source of inspiration when I start to work on my next series.

--What is your next project and future plan? 

I am now preparing two solo exhibitions in Sweden, both in the Swedish capital Stockholm. At Market Art fair, Nordic region's leading fair for contemporary art, I will exhibit some completely new artworks. After that, I will live in Stockholm during the month of May. I will start planning a new series of artworks and at the same time will work with some other projects too. So, a lot of very interesting things will happen in the future.

--Please give a message to your worldwide fans and viewers who are planning to come to the exhibition. 

I am very happy to hear so many people have already visited the gallery – Thank you all! I've received a lot of e-mails from people sharing their thoughts about the exhibition. I have really enjoyed reading them - so a big thank you for all the e-mails too! I just now created an Instagram account (@villeand)too, so feel free to check it out.