
Hannaleena Heiska
Hannaleena Heiska’s paintings, drawings, video works and installations create illusions of captured moments and different worlds. The dialogue between charcoal drawing and oil painting enriches the properties of the materials; the softness of charcoal is juxtaposed with the curved brushstrokes, the deep radiance of the paints exudes from the matt surface of the dark, earthy substance. Questions about humanity and its limits, especially in relation to other animals, are echoed in the states of flux and half-formed shapes in the depictions of unstable hybrids. Heiska paints alla prima; with each work coming about in an instant. The technique involves a lot of uncertainty and, conversely, trust in the medium – in painting.
Hannaleena Heiska (b. 1973, Oulu) graduated from the Department of Painting at the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 2006. She was one of the artists nominated for the biggest art prize in Finland, the Ars Fennica, in 2011. Heiska has exhibited internationally, for example, at the 4th Ural Industrial Biennial, Yekaterinburg, Russia, 2017; Gothenburg Art Museum, Gothenburg, 2015; Espace Louis Vuitton Gallery, Tokyo 2012; and the CAC – Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania 2010. Heiska’s works are represented in many significant public collections, such as Gothenburg Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki, and EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art. Her videoworks have been shown at numerous film and media-art festivals in Europe. Her film Today We Live won first prize in the Helsinki Short Film Festival in 2013.
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Reflecting RealityHannaleena Heiska, Reflecting Reality, Reflecting Reality is a multi-disciplinary performance that has evolved from the collaboration between the visual artist Hannaleena Heiska and the dancer-choreographer Minna Tervamäki., 0 cm x 0 cm ,2022. Photo: Jenni Nurminen, Finnish National Gallery, Ateneum Museum.


Reflecting RealityHannaleena Heiska, Reflecting Reality, Reflective Reality is a multi-disciplinary performance that has evolved from the collaboration between the visual artist Hannaleena Heiska and the dancer-choreographer Minna Tervamäki., 0 cm x 0 cm ,2022. Photo: Jenni Nurminen, Finnish National Gallery, Ateneum museum.


Reflecting RealityHannaleena Heiska, Reflecting Reality, Reflective Reality is a multi-disciplinary performance that has evolved from the collaboration between the visual artist Hannaleena Heiska and the dancer-choreographer Minna Tervamäki, 0 cm x 0 cm ,2022. Photo: Jenni Nurminen, Finnish National Gallery, Ateneum Museum.


Reflecting RealityHannaleena Heiska, Reflecting Reality, Reflective Reality is a multi-disciplinary performance that has evolved from the collaboration between the visual artist Hannaleena Heiska and the dancer-choreographer Minna Tervamäki, 0 cm x 0 cm ,2022. Photo: Jenni Nurminen, Finnish National Gallery, Ateneum Museum.


Hannaleena Heiska, Orlando V2021, oil on mdf, 110 x 90 cm. Image: Ville Löppönen


Hannaleena Heiska, Blazing World VIII2021, oil on mdf, 130 x 120 cm, image: Ville Löppönen


Hannaleena Heiska, Blazing World I2021, oil on mdf, 130 x 120 cm. Image: Ville Löppönen


Hannaleena Heiska, Blazing World X2021, oil on mdf, 130 x 120 cm, image: Ville Löppönen


Hannaleena Heiska, I am the guardian of the sleeping fawn2021, oil on mdf, 130 x 120 cm. Image: Jussi Tiainen


Hannaleena Heiska, The Blazing World I2021, oil on mdf, 130 x 120 cm, image: Ville Löppönen
Curriculum Vitae
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20.–22.10.2022, 2.12.2022, 15.1.2023, 8.–12.3.2023, 14.–26.3.2023
Hannaleena Heiska – Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis, an experimental film by the Finnish Painter Hannaleena Heiska, takes part in several international film festivals in Canada, Finland, Norway, Serbia, and Mexico.
What happens when the audience and staff have left the exhibition hall, and the art begins to live its own life? The work suggests indulging in a viewing experience and being guided by a non-verbal narration.
Metamorphosis is an experimental short film shot on 16 mm black and white film that combines painting and contemporary ballet. The film is the result of an interdisciplinary collaboration between visual artist Hannaleena Heiska and dancer-choreographer Minna Tervamäki. It was shot in the empty exhibition hall of the Espoo Museum of Modern Art EMMA.
Experimental Film Guanajuato (MX) 20.–22.10.2022
Kinoskop – International festival of analog experi mental cinema, Belgrade (RS) 2.12.2022
Minimalen Short Film Festival, Trondheim (NO) 15.1.2023
The International Festival of Films on Art FIFA, Montréal (CA) 8–12.3.2023
Tampere Film Festival (FI) 14.–26.3.2023
Hannaleena HeiskaThe International Festival of Films on Art FIFA Tampere Film Festival Minimalen Short Film Festival Kinoskop - International festival of analog experimental cinemaExperimental Film GuanajuatoExcerpt of the film Metamorphosis at the website of the Centre for Finnish Media Art


5.4.–3.9.2023
Hannaleena Heiska – Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is an interdisciplinary exhibition created uniquely for Espoo Museum of Modern Art EMMA’s space by artist Hannaleena Heiska and dancer-choreographer Minna Tervamäki. The exhibition fuses film, painting and dance into a seamless creation.
An important part of the exhibition are the performances that will take places at EMMA in the spring 2023. As seen in previous works by the duo, the space will be transformed as Heiska paints and Tervamäki dances. The viewer can never know beforehand what kind of exhibition they are likely to encounter when they enter the space.
The artists describe Metamorphosis as follows. “It proposes one possible way of being an artist, and one possible meaning of art. The abstract narrative is like an antidote to the hectic pace of contemporary life, just as painting and film are antidotes to today’s reality-distorting filters and wow culture. It evades categorization yet consists of recognizable elements. It invites you to plunge into a new kind of viewing experience and to open your mind to non-verbal narrative.”
Heiska and Tervamäki began their collaboration with Trace, which debuted at EMMA in 2016. Their return to EMMA in autumn 2023 is a logical continuation of their co-practice.
Heiska is a visual artist who works across the media of painting, drawing, video art, installation, and performance. Tervamäki is a dancer and choreographer who has had a long and celebrated career as principal dancer at the Finnish National Ballet. Today she focuses primarily on choreography and multidisciplinary projects.
The exhibition will be on view in EMMA Arena, the museum’s space for experimental projects.