Ville Mäkikoskela
Basic information
b. 1975, Parkano
Sculptor
Residence: Helsinki
Artist’s Statement
I am a sculptor because sculpture is something tangibly real, it has its own body and it totally takes its own space. The basis of my artistic working is a man, what is the place of man in the world? I don´t like the leftist neither the rightist. My point of view is humanistic. I don´t often make human figures as a whole in my works but the viewer can always feel the presence of a human.
In my way of working first comes the idea. I make that indefinite mental idea real during the working process. When I have the idea I start to search the right material and the right working method. As a sculptor I am like a tourist and an experimenter. As decisive as the result is, as a piece of art, the process is however equal. A working process is definitely a part of the work. I think it’s very important, that the viewer is able to see how the piece of art is done, she or he can see the tracks of the process. I try to choose the working method which is truthful to my idea and have a mental connection to the finished sculpture. I agree with a Polish sculptor, Miroslaw Balka: “For me the history of materials is more important than the history of art.”
On the other hand I am really interested in traditional sculpting materials (for example marble, bronze, etc.) and different kinds of working methods. How can I say something relevant about today’s world using the traditional materials and ways of working?
As I think the working process is a part of art piece, I also think the empty space around the sculpture is as important as the sculpture itself.
Sometimes my works are tragic, sometimes they are comical. But certainly on their very best days they are tragicomic.
In my way of working first comes the idea. I make that indefinite mental idea real during the working process. When I have the idea I start to search the right material and the right working method. As a sculptor I am like a tourist and an experimenter. As decisive as the result is, as a piece of art, the process is however equal. A working process is definitely a part of the work. I think it’s very important, that the viewer is able to see how the piece of art is done, she or he can see the tracks of the process. I try to choose the working method which is truthful to my idea and have a mental connection to the finished sculpture. I agree with a Polish sculptor, Miroslaw Balka: “For me the history of materials is more important than the history of art.”
On the other hand I am really interested in traditional sculpting materials (for example marble, bronze, etc.) and different kinds of working methods. How can I say something relevant about today’s world using the traditional materials and ways of working?
As I think the working process is a part of art piece, I also think the empty space around the sculpture is as important as the sculpture itself.
Sometimes my works are tragic, sometimes they are comical. But certainly on their very best days they are tragicomic.
