2025
UPCOMING
15.10–2.11.2025
Toistaiseksi nimeämätön rakkaus, solo exhibition
Gallery Uusi Kipinä, Lahti, FIN
2010-2019
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
A group exhibition at Kuusankoskitalo Gallery, Finland.
In this show, I presented a selection of my photographs from On My Way to Watch THAT Reality Show documentary project about the personal encounters I had while visiting parts of Florida during the 2016 presidential elections of United States — a historical duel between Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump.
On My Way to Watch THAT Reality Show 2019
KÄRKÖLÄ: ON COUNTRYSIDE,
ALMOST IN THE CITY 2017
A joint exhibition with painter Matti Happonen at the LATO artspace located in Huovila park.
“Kärkölä: In the Countryside, Almost In the City is a changing collection of photographs of the people, places and moods of the municipality of Kärkölä. The work is based on the photographer's desire to explore and record the everyday life of his birthplace and the transformation it is undergoing.
Kerttula has carried out the project in several stages, photographing in the Kärkölä area since 2008. All in all, hundreds of photographs have already been recorded in the work, which has resulted in a wide range of exhibitions, video works and book chapters. The photos are now being shown for the first time to the local public at Huovila park, a popular summer destination in the municipality. At the same time, the photographs in the exhibition celebrate the important anniversary of Kärkölä, a small municipality in Päijät-Häme, which turned 150 years old in February 2017.
Matti Happonen (b.1957) is a sculptor and painter who moved to Järvela about ten years ago. He has held numerous solo exhibitions and participated in dozens of group and group exhibitions. His works are in the collections of the Finnish State, the Lahti Art Museum and private collections in Finland and abroad. In addition to her work, Happonen teaches at the Lahti Institute of Design.
Her art has long been based on the interaction between man and nature. He has sought spiritual and physical security from nature. The creation of his works is influenced by a personal observation or feeling that he experiences while walking in nature. The works use a variety of sheltering structures, territorial markers and places. The themes are explored through a variety of techniques: paintings, sculptures and installations. The paintings sometimes include elements of three-dimensional houses or trees that act as human symbols. A search has been made for a conceptual layering and for the dimensions that make up human life.
Large-scale acrylic and oil paintings and a spatial work are on display at the Huovila.”
Small business owner and hairdresser Merja Ikävalko at her workplace in Järvelä. Maalla, melkein kaupungissa, 2016.
SPLINTERS OF JÄRVELÄ 2016
A group exhibition in Stockholm at Galleri Kontrast in May 2016 showcasing a collection of photographs from Splinters Of Järvelä. Also, a limited edition artistbook was published for the exhibition.
The production of this work was supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation`s Päijät-Häme Regional Fund.
Self-Published with Blurb® by MK. in 2016
VIEW OF THE NORTH III 2015
A group exhibition in Sweden at the Sundsvall Kulturmagasinet in May 2015. I presented the first edition of my Transcendence project with a selection of large sized prints (100 x 80 cm). In addition, a multimedia version of Rising Land was premiered at the Kulturmagasinet film venue during the exhibition. One of my key photographs was also used for the poster design and PR-material. The show was curated by John Kimmich-Javier.
Artists included:
Nikoletta Papathanasiou (Greece)
Janne Riikonen (Finland)
Mikko Kerttula (Finland)
Eva Saukane (Latvia)
Alejandro G Sáanchez (Spain)
Krisztina Mike (Hungary)
A walkthrough of the View of the North III exhibition space. Duration approx. 3 minutes.
PALJAS, PEITETTY 2013
A group exhibition at Gallery Oyoy, Lahti.
“Things move in time. Often, even in the seminar that starts the thesis process, big themes emerge that underlie many of the students' topics. The work of the Spring '13 graduating photographers will include pieces that reflect in different ways on a hardening society and neoliberal values.
Even through the personal, there is a dive into the universal. Geographically, the works move near and far from Järvelä to Shots and from Shots to a small town in Texas.
On the other hand, the graduating photographers always reflect on photography as a medium and the role of the photographer in a world that is more than full of images. A world where reality is recognized as resembling the images we know. What is my own relationship as a photographer to this subject? What do I want to say? What can a photograph say?
In recent years, the works of photographers are increasingly photobooks as digital technology makes it possible to produce a few books of high quality. Very often the authors have gone on to publish, print and distribute the books internationally.”
Featured photographers:
Samuli Ikäheimo
Heikki Kaski
Mikko Kerttula
Paula Sundell
Matti Vassinen
PICTURE TEXAS 2010
A group exhibition Picture Texas at Gallery Oyoy, Lahti. The show presented 11 individual projects made in the state of Texas during a intense one month documentary workshop.
My work shared the stories of stable workers Benito, José and Oscar in Magnolia, Texas. As necessary shadows, the men were forced to work long periods without seeing their families across the border in Mexico. While happy to do the well paid job as stable workers, the months in Magnolia were filled with longing, work routines and a constant concern of being discovered by local officials.
Featured photographers:
Aava Anttinen
Jarkko Nevalainen
Mikko Kerttula
Maarit Mustonen
Lina Jelanski
Verna Kovanen
Tara Jaakkola
Mia Saarinen
Veli-Matti Hoikka
Samuli Ikäheimo
Matti Vassinen
Oscar. From Picture Texas, 2010.