Hanna-Kaisa Korolainen | Blanche Neige

Year2023
MediumHand-tufted rug, mohair, silk, wool
Size42 x 41 cm
Categories

Hanna-Kaisa Korolainen is a multidisciplinary artist and designer. She started out as a photographer, specializing in autoportraits and polaroids, later moving to France to work in the field of fashion and nourish her aesthetics through the decadence of the Parisian rock scene, countryside antique markets and Saint Laurent. A decade later, she returned to her homeland Finland, and after designing prints for Marimekko, she concentrated on art textiles – rya rugs and silk jacquards – glass and ceramics. Korolainen has been showing her artworks in exhibitions in Finland and abroad, from Beijing to Milan and New York.

“Mostly I’m inspired by different layers of history – visual arts, different styles and cultures – and on the other hand, the colour of my morning matcha or a blooming bush in the yard can totally take me over. I have studied inspiration at Aalto University, and only in recent years I have learned to block some of the things that inspire me out of my mind. This way I can focus on just a few topics in more depth – I might even work with some for several years.

I consider the role of inspiration in the creative process to be collaborative, and it may even be the case that sometimes the subject of inspiration is actually the starting point of the creative process. For example, Monet’s Water Lilies paintings have set in motion countless new works, the number of which is increasing indefinitely. I secretly dream that my works could also serve as a source of inspiration for someone.”

Hanna-Kaisa Korolainen