Johanna Rytkölä is a Finnish sculptor who works in ceramics. She studied at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki, Finland, receiving a MA degree in the Department of Art Education in 1982, and in 1986, a MA degree in the Department of Ceramics and Glass Design. She received the state artist grant for a fiveyear period in 2008 and for one year in 2015. She lives and works in the city of Vantaa near Helsinki.
Johanna Rytkölä had her first solo exhibitions in 1988 in Helsinki, Finland, and in Stockholm, Sweden. She has since held numerous solo exhibitions and presented her works in joint and group exhibitions and competitions in Finland and abroad. Several art collections in Finland have acquired her ceramic sculptures, as well as art and design museums and collections of ceramic art in other countries. She has created several public commissions in Finland. Johanna Rytkölä is a member of the Association of Finnish Sculptors and the International Academy of Ceramics (IAC-AIC).
Visit Johanna Rytkölä’s website and Instagram page.
Featured work
Selected works, 2018-2021
My artistic works are characterized by positivity, clear forms, bright colours and the aim to capture movement in the form of a sculpture. Memories, fantasies, fact and fiction entwine and melt together. My works could be compared to poetry, stories and fairytales.
Water is a theme to which I return year after year in one way or another time and again. I love swimming, seashores and soft lake waters. In my earlier works I’ve dealt with swimming, diving and showering as a personal experience.
The theme of my newest ceramic sculptures is the recent state of the oceans. However, my works are full of positive attitude, because without optimism good things will not be achieved.
