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On the Collaboration Between Haanpää and Suutari
Markku Haanpää and Aki Suutari met while studying in the Master’s Degree Programme in Fine Arts (YAMK) at SAMK’s Kankaanpää School of Art (2023–2024). The programme brought together artists from across Finland, and Haanpää and Suutari quickly discovered a strong personal rapport as well as a shared artistic sensibility.
For both artists, the creative process is rooted in presence, an intuitive understanding of materials, and a natural approach to working with diverse media. Their works enter into dialogue with one another both aesthetically and thematically. The exhibition at Galleria Joella is their second collaborative exhibition as a duo, with further collaborations already planned.
Markku Haanpää
My artistic practice is multidisciplinary, and I actively participate in several artist collectives. Environmental and animal welfare are deeply important to me, and I contribute through my work, including volunteer activities with SEY Loimaa Association and as an officially authorised wildlife rehabilitator certified by the Regional State Administrative Agency (AVI).
I strive to make my art as ecological as possible, creating new works through recycling and repurposing materials. The artistic process itself is central to my practice, and I regularly share it through social media. During my career I have held 28 solo exhibitions and participated in 96 group exhibitions, including 11 abroad. I have also curated exhibitions and produced collaborative exhibitions. One artist collective has described me as the driving force behind its communal activities, while others have referred to me as an artistic environmental activist. I feel honoured by these acknowledgements.
I also work through an alter ego, Hemuli Hellboy, who explores artistic processes from the perspectives of otherness and more-than-human existence. The character advocates for nature and biodiversity with a poetic voice, embracing every shade of the rainbow while carrying a message that burns like fire. Hemuli Hellboy has an Instagram presence, and this perspective rooted in otherness significantly informs the content of my artistic practice.
About my works in the KEHÄ exhibition
What I am grateful for:
Nature and the respect it deserves. Life, its cycles, and death. Biodiversity—the immeasurable value of preserving the richness of life. Understanding our companionship with other species, creating art through the philosophy and wisdom of the crow. My love of natural materials—something no one can take away from me. Craftsmanship and material sensitivity, abilities that seem to be disappearing from modern society, though less so among artists. The gifts of seeing and experiencing, and the ability to move through time. The artistic process itself, and the enriching effect of creative flow on both mind and body. Collaboration and sharing artistic practice with another artist.
What I cannot be grateful for, although these challenges have shaped my artistic process:
The policies and funding cuts of Finland’s current government, which make life increasingly difficult for those already in vulnerable situations. I know what it is like to experience hunger and cold. Financial hardship and the inability to purchase new art materials—although this has led me towards natural materials, for which I am grateful. Burnout, and societal structures that fail to support artists. The loss of biodiversity and humanity’s destructive impact on the environment. Frustration and anger. Yet my artistic fire burns stronger than ever—and for that, too, I give thanks.
Aki Suutari
I am a visual artist living and working in Säkylä and an active participant in Finland’s contemporary art scene. I create my works by casting bronze and aluminium, and by hand-building ceramics and precious metals using traditional goldsmithing techniques and tools.
My work has been supported by grants from the Alfred Kordelin Foundation and the Arts Promotion Centre Finland. My artworks are included in numerous public and private collections. My public bronze sculpture You Are Me (Sinä olet minä) is permanently installed at Aseman Taidelaituri in Punkaharju.
I have held more than a dozen solo exhibitions throughout Finland, including at Galleria Uusikuva in Kotka, Rajatila and Ronga in Tampere, Taidekeskus Ahjo, and most recently at Loimaa Art Museum and Galleria Saskia in Pori. In 2019, I held my first international solo exhibition in Tartu, Estonia. Since 2014, I have participated in numerous group exhibitions. I am a member of the Artists’ Association of Finland and the Finnish Jewellery Art Association.
Alongside my artistic practice, I have worked extensively in art education and other roles within the visual arts field. From 2007 to 2015, I taught and lectured at the Savonlinna School of Crafts and Design. Between 2016 and 2017, I taught visual arts at Punkaharju Comprehensive School. As part of my teaching career, I coordinated international programmes and participated in several teaching exchanges in Prague and Tallinn.
Alongside teaching and my own artistic work, I worked at the Retretti Art Centre in various roles—primarily as an artist’s assistant and exhibition installer—from 2008 to 2011. Between 2017 and 2019, I worked part-time at Sinisalo Art Foundry. Since 2019, I have worked as a full-time independent artist. I also teach art and crafts at local adult education centres alongside my own artistic practice.
My works explore the relationships between people and their influence on one another, themselves, nature, and the surrounding world. I draw inspiration from myths, fairy tales, and religious narratives. Organic forms found in nature, together with references to art history and popular culture, are recurring elements in my work.
Rather than providing definitive answers, my art seeks to raise questions. I bring forward subjects that resonate deeply with me and continue to linger in my mind. I want to share these reflections with others. Sculpture and making things by hand are the most natural means for me to do so. I want my works to be publicly accessible—whether in exhibitions or through social media—so that they can spark dialogue and exchange with others.