Riikka Puronen

Sculptor Riikka Puronen’s works play with method and material. Working with abstract sculpture and unusual materials, she wants to question the idea of virtuosity and the importance of technical skill. Her idea is to bring the method into the spectator’s focus, and emphasize the idea behind the piece over the technical execution.

Puronen’s recent works include sculpture installations and photography. She has used bronze and aluminum as well as mixed media to create pieces that have a mechanical and industrial, even futuristic air.

In her most recent sculpture installation, Debbie&Mick (2012) Puronen uses seven different abstract constructions composed of unusual materials such as melted bronze, burlap and glitter, in order to create a visual narrative of a love story between imaginary characters Debbie and Mick.

Puronen has used different kinds of experimental methods, including sketching the form of a sculpture on polystyrene, with the movements of her arms, hands and body in a tangible relation with the material she was working with. She is also interested in exploring the interface between two-dimensional and three-dimensional methods, working somewhere in between drawing and sculpture. She wants to examine how drawings can be transferred into sculptures without losing the immediacy of the sketch.