Galerie Anhava

Emma Jääskeläinen transforms classic stone sculpting materials and techniques into contemporary, contemplative, cheeky, soft, and bulky (or “Gustonian”, as she herself describes) forms, that carry strong personal stories. From monumental scale to palm-size, and from hard materials, such as granite, marble and travertine, to metal casting and wool felting, Jääskeläinen looks for impulses that arise from within the material, as it slowly reacts to her touch. The ideas and themes originate from the everyday, such as her loved ones or a chewing gum stuck to a sculpture, expanding towards art historical framework, and fundamental, corporeal experiences such as motherhood, empathy and caring.

Jääskeläinen (b. 1988) lives and works in Espoo. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in 2018, and in 2022 she received the nationally notable Young Artist of the Year award. Her many exhibitions include: GAA gallery, New York (2025); HAM Helsinki Art Museum (2024), Paris+par Art Basel, Paris (2023); Turku Art Museum (2023), Vleeshal, The Netherlands (2023); Tampere Art Museum (2022), PMS Gallery, Berlin (2021); and Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki (2019). Jääskeläinen’s work is found in numerous private and key public collections, including the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, HAM Helsinki Art Museum and Tampere Art Museum. She’s been commissioned several public works.

Jääskeläinen’s first solo exhibition at Galerie Anhava will take place in 2026.

amazon is a 16 mm film projection of an androgynous figure shooting a bow and arrow. For the most part, the camera is tight on the body – neck, chest and arm muscles snap between tension and rest. When it jumps back the camera exposes the torso as that of a single-breasted woman. Under the glare of harsh sunlight the woman relentlessly shoots arrow after arrow, each imprinting stark shadows on her skin. amazon makes reference to the Greek myth of a matriarchal society of brave female warriors who are said to have cut off one breast to hit their target better. The work speaks of harnessed strength, female courage and determination.

Image: A K Dolven, amazon, 2005, 16mm film, mute, 1 minute 34 seconds

The award criteria:

“Ilona Anhava is an uncompromising gallerist and a professional mediator of art. Through her work, she has continuously and persistently supported and promoted work opportunities for numerous artists and done groundbreaking work contributing to internationalization of Finnish art. Anhava has created a commercially successful gallery, with an operational model financially sustainable also from the artists’ point of view.

Anhava has significantly reinforced the culture of collecting and supporting art by bringing together artists, artworks and buyers, as well as by selling outstanding, world-class art to Finnish homes for decades. She has acted as an important background force both in the museum world as well as in organizations related to promoting art. As part of her role as a mediator of art, Anhava has actively supported the work done in art journalism and promoted a diverse and polyphonic art discourse on the Nordic art scene from the early 1990’s.”

“Noora Schroderus is a conceptual artist with a multidisciplinary practice. In her works, she uses a wide array of techniques and materials, examining through her sarcastic and playful eye both social phenomena and power structures. Her inventive artworks combine a distinctive humour to recognizable cultural phenomena in a way that never seizes to surprise the viewer.

Schroderus is, both as an artist as well as promoter of working conditions for artists, informed and active. She is respected by her peers for her strong support for young artists and their activities. Alongside her international career, Schroderus has promoted visual arts widely across Finland.”

Images:
1) Ilona Anhava. Photo: Courtesy of Galerie Anhava
2) Noora Schroderus. Photo: Courtesy of Noora Schroderus