The Project






The ceramic art exhibition 'Behind the Seen' is a part of a long term collaboration between The Finnish Association of Designers Ornamo and the German Bund der Kunsthandwerker Baden-Württemberg e.V.

The aim is to create continuing networks between Finnish and German professional artist and designers. The goal is to find mutual ways to benefit from the collaboration and to work in the fields of craft, art, design and architecture.

The collaboration started in Summer 2013 in the form of a Concrete Symposium held in Ulm, Germany. The project continued with another Concrete Symposium held mutually in Inkoo archipelago, Finland, in August 2014 together with collaborators from Rudus Oy, Finnsementti Oy, Parma/Consolis-consern, Suomen betoniteollisuuden keskusjärjestösäätiö (SBK), Betoni-organisation and Betoni-magazine. The focus of the symposium was in products and in environmental art while using the plasticity of the concrete material. The workshop pursued the productization of the consepts and the products.

As a continuum for the collaborative workshops, a Metal Symposium held it's place in Ulm, Germany, in August 2015. Members from both of the German and Finnish associations took part to the symposium, and Ornamo was represented by Laura Isoniemi, Outi Turpeinen, Hanna-Kaisa Ropanen and Ossi Laine. The members created material based artworks of metal by benefiting of the techniques familiar to textile materials. The planning of the collaborative symposiums in Finland has been done by ceramic artists Kirsi Kivivirta and Johanna Rytkölä together with interior designer Lena Strömberg.

Collaboration between Ornamo and BdK Baden-Württemberg e.V. has included a ceramic art exhibition held at the Historical Ceramics Museum at the Ludwigsburg castle in Stuttgard, Germany. For the exhibition, the German jury chose art works by seven Finnish ceramic artists: Kirsi Kivivirta, Tytti Korin, Tiia Matikainen, Johanna Rytkölä, Satu Syrjänen, Outi Särkikoski and Veera Tamminen. The show exhibited 17 ceramic artists' works in total. The exhibition trip was funded by Arts Promotion Centre Finland.

'Behind the Seen' -exhibition, Spring 2016 in Porvoo, is a mutual gesture for a long term collaboration with our German colleagues and a response for a collaborative ceramic art exhibition held at the Historical Ceramics Museum at the Ludwigsburg castle in Summer 2014. The exhibition at Porvoo Art Hall has been funded by Greta and William Lehtinen's Foundation and by Arts Promotion Centre Finland.