Ida Koitila

A picture of Ida Koitila

Ida Koitila (b.1983 Borås, Sweden) lives and works in Hanko, Finland. She graduated from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 2011. Her work has been shown at: Vidunderligheter, Borås Art Museum, Borås 2022, Mad Love, Seppo Fränti collection, Kiasma, Helsinki 2020, Extensions, Sinne, Helsinki 2019, Skulptur i Pilane, Tjörn, Sweden 2018-2022, Crash of Air, Finnish Institute, Berlin 2015, Time that Remains, Helsinki Contemporary, Helsinki 2014 and recently at New Ice Age, Taidekeskus Mältinranta, Tampere 2023.

She is represented in collections such as the Wihuri Art Collection, Kiasma Collections, Kiasma Seppo Fränti Collection, The Pro Artibus Foundation's collection and Borås Art Museums Collection. Public works are Column, Culture center Fokus, Karis 2022, Kunskapens Källa (Pool), Vasa övningsskola, Vaasa 2019, Ebb and Flow, The Tre Smeder Foundation's office in Kvarteret Victoria, Helsinki 2017. Koitila is a member of the Association of Finnish Sculptors.

ida_koitila@hotmail.com

Photo: Sandra Kantanen

SELECTION
OF WORKS

BARBED WIRE SERIES

The barbed wire works was created for the exhibition Crash of Air at The Finnish Institute in Berlin, Germany 2015.
BARBED WIRE SERIES

The barbed wire works was created for the exhibition Crash of Air at The Finnish Institute in Berlin, Germany 2015. ”Koitila winds strands of barbed wire into balls before covering them in wax. They come as solo works like Metates (2015) or as part of a whole installation as in Emulsion (2015), and bring vibrant pigment into her palette. Metates is dark, almost blue-black and is ominous and lurking while the Emulsion works are brightly coloured (but veiled in wax), and form a garden of thorns, some bright green, others orange or yellow, all set in thickets of brown and grey. It is as if the wall of thorns surrounding the mythic Sleeping Beauty has been transformed, not by a prince, but by Koitila who has fought those dangerous barbs and struggled to bring them back to us as treasure.” (Micheal Petry: ”Resistance to melting.” In: Ida Koitila. Memo. Pro Artibus Foundation 2019, p 19.)

DNA

The folklore tales about the so called ”adder stone” became the inspiration for the DNA series when numerous of these stones where found in the woods nearby the artist residency Hôtel Chevillon in Grez zur Loing in France where the artist stayed in 2013.
DNA

The folklore tales about the so called ”adder stone” became the inspiration for the DNA series when numerous of these stones were found in the woods nearby the artist residency Hôtel Chevillon in Grez zur Loing in France where the artist stayed in 2013. The stones, with a naturally occurring hole through them and supposably holder of magic powers, where combined with modern materials from outdoor clothing, such as cord stoppers and shoelaces. The first sculpture came to being during the residency stay in France and was first exhibited at the A Yellow Ribbon exhibition at II II // I Hochstrasse 45, Berlin. Later on it changed form and was turned into three separate sculptures.

UNDER THE DUVET SERIES

The Under the Duvet series was created for the exhibition Silent Speakers at Ålgården in Borås, Sweden 2013. The works explores the ambivalent features in human relationships.
UNDER THE DUVET SERIES

The Under the Duvet series was created for the exhibition Silent Speakers at Ålgården in Borås, Sweden 2013. The works explores the ambivalent features in human relationships. ”Koitila uses wax to allude to the inherent violence of covering and concealing while at the same time hinting at its healing and ‘forgiving’ quality. Her series of white wax balls is called Under the Duvet (2012), where lovers are often found.” (Micheal Petry: ”Resistance to melting.” In: Ida Koitila. Memo. Pro Artibus Foundation 2019, p 19.)

ida_koitila@hotmail.com - CV