MARIANNE HUOTARI

Marianne Huotari produces meticulous ceramic wall rugs and glazed stoneware sculptures which reimagine traditional Finnish rya textiles, the boldly colored, long-pile tapestries which depict networks of geometric forms, grids of flowers, and various repeating and tessellating patterns. Through a care-intensive process of craftsmanship, Huotari sculpts hundreds of oblong ceramic beads and petals by hand before sewing them onto a metal armature with wire. The beads layer and bubble at will, similar to the woven knots in ryijy. Her color palate mimics that of the original woolen fibers; creams and light greens alongside pinks and muted blues populate her tapestries and free-standing sculptures.

Huotari’s measured hands-on process allows her to decelerate the rapidity of daily life and find a meditative rhythm in the act of creation. She approaches each item she creates with tenderness, whether it be a bead passing through her fingers or a wall hanging requiring countless hours of stitching. As a result, her final forms exude a warmth and sensation of delight.

Huotari lives and works in Helsinki where she is a member of the Arabia Art Department Society. Her work has been shown widely in Finland, as well as throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States. Her collection Väre was made in collaboration with the Finnish National Museum. Huotari serves as the creative director for the Helsinki-based design and rug company Finarte. In 2022, Huotari was shortlisted for the Loewe Craft Prize and her work was exhibited at the Seoul Museum of Craft Arts. She is the recipient of the 2024 Taito-Finlandia Prize and the NYCxDesign Award. Huotari’s works are included in the collections of the EMMA Espoo Museum of Modern Art, the Finnish State Art Collection, and Palazzo Fendi in Milan, Italy.