Jorma Hautala

Wind and Cloud, 2010
acrylic on canvas
100 x 100 cm

JORMA HAUTALA (1941–2025) was Finland’s leading classic names in colourist Concretism, carrying on the tradition of the Bauhaus and Russian Concretism in his art. In his works, Hautala made us remember and to feel the truth and significance of the fact that art can contain inalienable values: the tensed balance of form, the reverberation of colour, beauty and wisdom. Tradition was present in his art, its form but also the intellectual content and values of tradition. Questions of colour, rhythm, and space consistently accompanied his practice from one decade to the next. Hautala was a free thinker whose curious and uncompromising eye ranged beyond the visual arts into numerous fields of creative design. He collaborated with architects, designed public artworks, worked as a graphic designer, and made an impact as a teacher, writer, and lecturer in the field of art.

Jorma Hautala studied at the Free Art School from 1959 to 1960 and at the Institute of Industrial Arts from 1962 to 1966. Hautala came to prominence in the 1960s, a period of internationalisation for Finnish art, and he was actively involved in the Aloha and Dimensio groups, which broke down traditional boundaries within the art world. His works are held in numerous major collections in Finland and internationally, including the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., the British Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Albertina in Vienna, the Gothenburg Museum of Art, the Alvar Aalto Museum, and the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art. In recent years, Hautala’s works have been exhibited at, among others, the Hämeenlinna Art Museum, Kunstsilo in Kristiansand, EMMA, and the Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art in Vaasa. He was awarded the Pro Finlandia Medal in 1989 and the Commander’s Cross of the Order of the Lion of Finland in 2001. Hautala served as artist professor from 1995 to 2000.

Haiku I, 2010
acrylic on canvas
120 x 75 cm

Autumn Dance, 2010
acrylic on canvas
160 x 160 cm

From the Songs series, 2012
mixed media
29,7 x 21 cm

Jorma Hautala, Wing – Shadow, 2006
acrylic on canvas
102 x 200 cm

Night in Africa, 2010
acrylic on canvas
150 x 100 cm

Reflections – Agadir I, 2013
acrylic on canvas
83 x 145 cm

Beyond the Mask, 2010
acrylic on canvas
150 x 100 cm

Sketches and Other Works
10 Aug – 3 Sep 2017
exhibition view

On the Road to Cordoba II, 2009
acrylic on canvas
135 x 100 cm

BioCVExhibitions

Exhibitions

Bio

“Northern light is a cliché, but light does matters a great deal up here in the north, where it changes with the time of day and the season. The goal is for the painting to create its own light – using only techniques specific to the art of painting. It’s about the struggle between light and darkness.”
-Jorma Hautala

 

JORMA HAUTALA (1941–2025) was Finland’s leading classic name in colourist Concretism. He carried on the tradition of the Bauhaus and Russian Concretism. Charismatic and spirited, Hautala made us remember and to feel the truth and significance of the fact that art can contain inalienable values: the tensed balance of form, the reverberation of colour, beauty and wisdom.

Hautala always worked systematically. He thought and planned. Then he drew the first sketch in pencil on graph paper, followed by a drawing in coloured pencil. He then prepared a gouache sketch, and it was only after this stage that he made the final painting in acrylic.

Muted and bright tones and shimmering, breathing surfaces resonate throughout the works, with large, simplified forms giving a precise rhythm to the paintings. Work titles such as Lingering Chord, Songs, and Tango point to the artist’s bond with music. “It’s like musical composition. I’ll paint colour intervals on the studio wall and compare them with one another, listening to the scales.”

Questions of colour, rhythm, and space consistently accompanied his practice from one decade to the next. Hautala was a free thinker whose curious and uncompromising eye ranged beyond the visual arts into numerous fields of creative design. He collaborated with architects, designed public artworks, worked as a graphic designer, and made an impact as a teacher, writer, and lecturer in the field of art.

Hautala remained actively at work throughout his long life. The collaboration with Galerie Artekin began in 1978 and continued subsequently with Galerie Anhava from 2001 onwards.

CV

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J O R M A  H A U T A L A

1941–2025, Helsinki

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

  • 2026
    • Songs and Other Works, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
  • 2017
    • Sketches and Other Works, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
  • 2014
    • Songs and Other Motifs, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
  • 2011
    • 70th Anniversary exhibition, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
  • 2008
    • The Pulse of Space and Light, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
  • 2004
    • Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
  • 2003
    • Galleria Orton, Helsinki
  • 2001
    • Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
    • Göteborgs Konstförening, Sweden
  • 1999
    • Galerie Artek, Helsinki
  • 1997
    • Institut Finlandais, Paris
  • 1996
    • Oulu Art Museum, Oulu, Finland
    • Pori Art Museum, Pori, Finland
    • Kunsthalle Helsinki
    • Galleri Krebsen, Copenhagen
  • 1994
    • Ars Libera, Kuopio
    • Deco Gallerii, Tallinn
  • 1993
    • Galerie Artek, Helsinki
  • 1992
    • Valkoinen huone, Tampere
    • Vaalgalerii, Tallinn
    • Galerii Sinimandria, Tartu, Estonia
  • 1991
    • Galerie Artek, Helsinki
    • Seinäjoki Art Hall, Seinäjoki, Finland
  • 1988
    • Galerie Artek, Helsinki
  • 1985
    • Galerie Artek, Helsinki
  • 1984
    • Kunstisalong, Tallinn
  • 1983
    • Galerie Artek, Helsinki
  • 1981
    • Galerie Artek, Helsinki
  • 1978
    • Galerie Artek, Helsinki
  • 1974
    • Kluuvi Gallery, Helsinki
  • 1971
    • Galleria Pintora, Helsinki
  • 1970
    • Finnish Painters’ Society, Helsinki

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

  • 2025
    • Nordic Noir, British Museum, London
    • Anhava + Archives – Selected works on paper, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
  • 2024
    • Abstracting the Ordinary, Hämeenlinna Art Museum, Hämeenlinna
    • Passions of the North, Kunstsilo, Kristiansand
    • Experiments in Concretism, EMMA Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo
  • 2023
    • Swanljung Collection – Follow Your Heart, Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art, Vaasa
  • 2017
    • Real Celebration!, Rovaniemi Art Museum
  • 2014
    • Pajaveto, Kollamakasiini, Verla
    • Art as a Passion, Lahti Art Museum
  • 2013
    • Collector’s Gaze, Pori Art Museum
  • 2011
    • Ars Rauma 2011, Rauma Art Museum
  • 2010
    • Hautala-Kivijärvi-Osipow, Pori Art Museum
    • 15th Biennial – Petit Format de Papier, Nismes
    • 5e Bienal Internacional de Gravura, Douro
  • 2007
    • It’s About the Art of our Time, Pori Art Museum
    • Boogie Woogie, Kunsthalle Helsinki
  • 2006–2007
    • Maisema Kiasman kokoelmissa, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki
  • 2003–2004
    • Turhat pojat – Lost Guys, Kunsthalle Helsinki; Lönnström Art Museum, Rauma; Mikkeli Art Museum
  • 2001
    • Konstruktive Kunst aus Finnland, Niebüll
    • The 12th Tallinn Triennial of Graphic Art
  • 2000
    • The World Festival on Paper, Kranj
    • Ludwig Museum, Saarlouis
    • Mondiale Echo’s, Mondriaanhuis, Amersfoort
    • 11 Finnish Painters from the 70’s, Gallery Niklas von Bartha, London
  • 1999
    • The Nickle Arts Museum, University of Calgary
    • The 23rd International Biennial of Graphic Art, Ljubljana
  • 1998
    • Försmak–  Finnish Art from Pori Art Museum, Sundsvalls Museum
  • 1997
    • Fra Finland till Fredericia, Fredericia Kunstforening
    • Dimensio, State Russian Museum, Marble Palace, St Petersburg
    • Museum De Rietgors, Papendrecht
  • 1996
    • Dimensio, M6, Riga
  • 1994
    • Baltic Jubilee 94, Art Lab i Malmö
  • 1992
    • Gallery Test, Warsaw
    • Color, Form, Structure, Nordjyllands Konstmuseum, Aalborg
  • 1991
    • Galleri Garmer, Gothenburg
    • The 1st International Biennial of Graphic Arts, Györ
    • Galerie Konstruktiv Tendens, Stockholm
  • 1990
    • Hommage à Pythagore, Luxembourg
    • Finske rom, Henie-Onstad Kunstsenter, Hövikodden
    • Kunstnergruppen Polaris, Copenhagen
    • Finland på Charlottenborg, Copenhagen
    • Finnland 1900–1990, Munich
  • 1989
    • Arte Sistematico y Constructivo, Madrid
    • The 8th Tallin Triennial of Graphic Art
    • Kunstnergruppen Polaris, Oslo
    • The 5th Biennial ‘Petit format de papier’, Couvin
    • Null-Dimension, Gmunden
  • 1988
    • Null-Dimension, Fulda
    • Konstruktivismus aus Finnland, Kaiserslautern
  • 1987
    • Art 87, Basel
    • Art of Today II, Budapest
    • 5 konstruktiva, Galleri Garmer, Gothenburg, Sweden; Galleri Sankt Olof, Nyköping & Galleri Walzinger, Saarlouis
  • 1986
    • 22 Finnish Painters, Jerusalem Theatre
  • 1984
    • Contemporary Finnish Graphics, Calcografia Nazionale, Rome
  • 1983
    • The 3rd Biennial of European Graphic Art, Baden-Baden
    • 24 Finske kunstnere, Statens museum for konst, Copenhagen
  • 1982
    • Moderne Finnische Grafik, Kunstverein Erlangen
  • 1981
    • The 1st Sapporo Triennial
  • 1980–1981
    • Form und Struktur, Vienna, Budapest, Madrid, Nurenberg, Lisbon
  • 1979
    • Finnish Constructivism, touring exhibition
  • 1978
    • The 6th Florence Graphic Arts Biennial
    • Five Artists from Today’s Finland, Kamakura, Kobe, Sapporo
  • 1977–1978
    • Contemporary Finnish Art, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Szczecin
  • 1976
    • Öga mot öga, Helsinki, Stockholm, Oslo, Bergen, Copenhagen, Reykjavik
  • 1975
    • Dimensio, Hässelby, Stockholm
  • 1974
    • Konstruktivism 1974, Moderna Museet, Stockholm
    • Festival International de la Peinture, Cagnes-sur-Mer, France
  • 1971
    • Scandinavian Art, Hässelby, Stockholm
    • The 2nd India Triennial, New Delhi
    • The 7th Paris Biennial
  • 1970
    • Nyköping Art Museum
  • 1969
    • I.D.A. Galleria, Copenhagen

WORKS IN COLLECTIONS
British Museum, London
Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki
Alvar Aalto Museum, Jyväskylä
Amos Anderson Art Museum, Helsinki
HAM Helsinki Art Museum
EMMA Espoo Museum of Modern Art
Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova, Turku
Oulu Art Museum
Pori Art Museum
Rovaniemi Art Museum
Sara Hildén Art Museum, Tampere
Museum of Contemporary Art, Tampere
Turku Art Museum, Turku
Wäinö Aaltonen Museum, Turku
Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art, Vaasa
Hämeenlinna Art Museum
Aine Art Museum, Tornio
Pyynikinlinna Collection, Tampere
Jyväskylä Art Museum
Kajaani Art Museum
Kerava Art Museum
Kuopio Art Museum
Lahti Art Museum
Mikkeli Art Museum
Saastamoinen Foundation
Paulo Foundation, Helsinki
Henna and Pertti Niemistö Collection
af Forselles Collection
Heino Collection
Swanljung Collection
Vexi Salmi Collection
Arkiv för Dekorativ Konst, Lund
Boijmans van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam
Foundation for Constructive Art, University of Calgary
Göteborgs Konstmuseum
Janos Pannonius Museum, Pécs
KUMU Estonian Art Museum, Tallinn
Kunsthalle Rostock
Museo de la Solidaridad Salvador Allende, Arte Contemporaneo, Santiago de Chile
Museum Albertina, Wien
Nordisk Ministerråd, Copenhagen
Selskapet på arbeidsplassed, Oslo
Statens konstråd, Sweden
Tartu Art Museum, Estonia
The Brooklyn Museum, New York
British Museum, London
National Gallery (Wilanova), Warsaw
Library of Congress, Washington D.C.

PUBLIC COMMISSIONS
2021 Forte and Crescendo, Wärtsilänkatu, Järvenpää
2011 Colour design, Rovaniemi Concert Hall, Korundi
1995 Mural painting, Espoo parish centre; Decorations for staircases, apartment house company Myllytien Olympos, Helsinki
1993 Mural paintings, Opera staff restaurant, Helsinki
1991 Colour design, Aleksinpiha courtyard, Helsinki
1989 Ceramic tile decoration, Kuopio University Hospital
1989 Mural paintings, Kuopio University Hospital
1986 Brick decoration, Fastighets Ab, Tammisaari
1985 Environmental decoration, Malmi railway station, Helsinki; Mural painting, Setec Oy, Vantaa
1984 Mural painting, Tampere University of Technology
1983 Mural paintings, Kirkkojärvi School, Espoo
1984 Mural painting, Kuopio University Hospital
1976 Mural painting, Hanasaari Power Plant B, Helsinki

PRIZES AND AWARDS
2001 Commander of the Order of the Lion of Finland
1995–2000 Artist Professor
1989 Pro Finlandia Medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland
1975, 1972 State Art Award
Numerous prizes in mural painting and graphic competitions since 1973