Eija-Liisa Ahtila

Eija-Liisa Ahtila
Born1959 (age 64–65)
Hämeenlinna, Finland
NationalityFinnish
EducationUCLA, American Film Institute, London College of Printing, University of Helsinki
Known forVideo art, Installation art
Websiteeija-liisaahtila.com

Eija-Liisa Ahtila (born 1959 in Hämeenlinna, Finland)[1] is a contemporary visual artist and filmmaker who lives and works in Helsinki.

Ahtila is most known for her multi-panel cinematic installations.[2] She experiments with narrative storytelling in her films and cinematic installations. In her earlier works, she dealt with the topic of unsettling human dramas at the center of personal relationships, dealing with teenage sexuality, family relationships, mental disintegration, and death. Her later works, however, pursue more profound artistic questions where she investigates the processes of perception and attribution of meaning, at times in the light of larger cultural and existential themes, like colonialism, faith and posthumanism.[3]

Ahtila has participated in numerous international art exhibitions such as Manifesta (1998), the Venice Biennale (1999 and 2005), documenta 11 (2002), São Paulo Art Biennial (2008) and the Sydney Biennale in 2002 and 2018.[4]

Ahtila has won several art and film awards, including the inaugural Vincent Award (2000),[5] Artes Mundi (2006),[6] Prince Eugen Medal (2008), and most recently Art Academic in Finland (2009).[7]

Her work is held in the collections of the Tate[8] and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.[9] She is a former professor at the Department of Time and Space-based Art at the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts (Finland).

  1. ^ Great Women Artists. Phaidon Press. 2019. p. 26. ISBN 978-0714878775.
  2. ^ Brasiskis, Lukas (2017). "Whose perspective is this? A few thoughts on Eija-Liisa Ahtila's Studies on the Ecology of Drama" NECSUS European Journal of Media Studies". NECSUS European Journal of Media Studies. 2: 243–248. doi:10.25969/mediarep/3413.
  3. ^ "Eija-Liisa Ahtila". AV-arkki. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019.
  4. ^ Greenberger, Alex (13 December 2017). "Biennale of Sydney Reveals Full Artist List for 2018 Edition". ARTnews. Archived from the original on 16 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  5. ^ "The Vincent Award History - 2000". The Vincent Award. Archived from the original on 20 May 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
  6. ^ Sisario, Ben (3 April 2006). "Arts, Briefly". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 16 November 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  7. ^ "Art Academics". Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike). 29 August 2022. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022.
  8. ^ "'Consolation Service', Eija-Liisa Ahtila, 1999". Tate. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Eija-Liisa Ahtila". Museum of Modern Art. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.