Timeline

Virva Hinnemo was born in 1976 in Helsinki, Finland “My work has always been grounded by perception and for many years I worked from life. While my work has become more abstract, I still feel that strong connection to all things real. I don't paint from life anymore but the memory of working with those kinds of elements feels very much alive. My mind sifts through all kinds of familiar associations fueling the work with a lighter subject some of the time and with more weight at other times. I'm driven to make something that can stand on its' own. Using my hands to make things has always struck me as constructive. To this day I devote pleasurable time making a variety of things/objects that are useful in my life and to my family. But painting is different and occupies another kind of space in my mind. Joy, disappointment, agony, determination, willfulness all wrapped up in the minutes and hours. My paintings, whether they're made on paper, cardboard, canvas or linen all share the same need to be fresh, surprising, inventive and bold. Every time I go into the studio I want to learn something. See something. Get clued in.”

For as long as I have had a studio practice, I have made works on scraps. I’ve always found that little forgotten pieces of paper and cardboard lend themselves to a more relaxed approach to artmaking. Who wants to be uptight while in the process of creating? The bottom of a brown paper bag is a great support for a drawing. The wrapper from a piece of chewing gum also. If I allowed myself, I would probably save every piece of garbage I ever came across. These things are like treasures to me. So about 7-8 years ago I suddenly realized that I was letting the cardboard drawings take more of a center stage in my studio. The drawings quite organically grew in size and in importance. Cardboard costs no money. I collect boxes and then I unfold them to discover different holes, curved edges and sometimes printed images and text. Whatever exists on the cardboard is a jumping off point for me. My eyes and my hands react to what is already there on the surface of the cardboard. I am adding to the story.