Kaija Poijula

Basic information

b. 1963, Pudasjärvi
Visual Artist
Residence: Helsinki

Contact information

Phone number: 050-3881532

Artist’s Statement

I work with a variety of materials and the scale of my works range from life-size installations to miniatures. My work discusses the themes of life and death, rites of passage, joy and sorrow; the human condition and rituals in our everyday lives. Morning dew, maiden snow, mist - quiet and beautiful moments that we notice only just when they are gone. Loneliness, shadows, the invisible world and macabre humour, all come into play in my art work.

“It is a dreamlike thing, hinting of some other reality besides the one we see with our eyes.”
Show biography

Current information

Solo Exhibitions:


2022 Galleria A2, Helsinki
2022 Taidekamari, Pudasjärvi

Group Exhibitions:
2022 Galleria Duetto, Helsinki
2022 Taidesalonki Talvio, Hartola
2022 Voipaala Art Centre, Sääksmäki
2021 PudArt2021, Taidekamari, Pudasjärvi
2019 Oulu Art Museum
2019 Gallery Vanha Kappalaisentalo, Porvoo
2018  Tampere-House, Tartu, Estonia

Bio

In her works, Visual Artist Kaija Poijula strives to depict the sense of being an outsider, loneliness and the invisible world of shadows, without becoming too melancholic. Poijula quotes the poet Pentti Saarikoski (1937 – 1983): “I am not interested in the world and its places. I am interested in places and their worlds.” In her works Poijula uses such materials as, for example, animal skulls, plants as well as worn, rusty, abandoned and partly burnt objects. The memories entangled with the objects blend together with the fragile and heavy materials and become works, which create dreamlike, an almost scary-tale atmosphere. Kaija Poijula lives and works in Helsinki. Poijula graduated as Master of Arts from the School of Arts, Design and Architecture in 1995. She studied as a scholarship holder in the Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm and in the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. From 2003 to 2007 she lived and worked in Ireland. Poijula has had several solo exhibitions and she has taken part in numerous group exhibitions in Finland and abroad. She has designed ecclesiastical textiles as well as works for private and public spaces in Finland and abroad. In 2006 she finished a commissioned artwork for the Bethlehem Cultural Centre in Palestine. Her works have been on display nationally, for instance, in the Mänttä Art Festival (2014) and the Purnu Art Festival (2015). Poijula’s works are part of the Finnish State Art Collection. She is a member of the Association of Finnish Sculptors.