Päivi Rintaniemi: Calix, 2021
The first solo exhibition set in the rough Hall of the Kunsthalle Seinäjoki (Finland) is Calix by Päivi Rintaniemi, an artist from Seinäjoki.
The fragile yet stable shape of Rintaniemi’s sculptures allows the audience to focus on the plain, physical surface and stopped movement. Clay, which is regarded as an unpretentious material, has a strong will. In Rintaniemi’s hands, thousands of objects, sculptures, surfaces and shapes have been formed from clay over the decades.
“My working methods are very simple and traditional: by hand, using clay and a knife as tools. In some of my works I’ve also used some other materials, such as concrete and wire.
Clay offers an opportunity for meditative work and dialogue. And indeed it also plays its own mystical part in remindingus of past generations”, says Rintaniemi. Clay made up of microscopically small granules is an ancient, historical material. The Latin word calix means chalice.
As an artist, Rintaniemi speaks about things and turning points in life beside her works in words, which the listener finds easy to identify with. Indeed, her exhibitions and works often have names taken from everyday reality. Like a researcher, in her art she reflects on humanity, what we see in others and how we can care about each other by perceiving the simplicity and beauty of things through art.