Hidden

HB381 is pleased to announce Hidden, a solo exhibition of Kristina Riska’s latest body of work. Riska (Finnish, b. 1960) is one of Scandinavia’s foremost contemporary ceramic artists and has been studying, defying, and redefining the traditional tenets of the medium since the 1980s. Hidden is her first exhibition at HB381, and third solo show with gallery principals Juliet Burrows and Kim Hostler, who have represented Riska at Hostler Burrows for the past decade. This new group of large scale hand-built stoneware sculptures—arresting in their technical mastery—marks an important departure for the artist in her approach to color and form. A selection of ink drawings will also be on view, presented for the first time in dialogue with the ceramic works. More than simply sketching as a functional necessity, Riska distills sensations into shapes on the paper. There is a palpable serenity in her work—an energy that emanates from the undulating, fluid curves—at once fragile and full of power. She says of Hidden, “We all carry a certain private spot inside of us, a hidden place. Our thoughts, our history, our desire, who we really are: a source of life, maybe it is the soul. In this restless and relentless world, maybe more than ever, I feel the importance of finding the peace of mind to be able to survive. Working is the hidden place for me..”