Jaana Kivi

Biography

Jaana Kivi describes her art as neo-surrealism or magical realism with a little touch of abstract. As an artist she is technically multitalented. With her versatile process, she can turn her visions into a large variety of art. She can handle multiple mixed media styles as well as classical oil techniques. That’s why it seems like impossible is only a state of mind for her, and as she once said, the mind limits our liberation towards greater potential.
 
For Jaana, art is a way to express the conflict between the inner and the outer world and through art she strives for an alternative world to unfold powerful ways. Jaana’s process is strong, bold, and definite at the same time. She fulfils her artworks with high energy and her process is driven by a strong vision. She loves to leave evidence and a record of her marks and brushstrokes. It’s been said that Jaana’s artworks catch the viewer’s attention, create some intrigue and empower the spectators to study and appreciate their own contradictions, visions, intuitions, bodies and souls. (Liliana Sanchez, art curator, M.A.D.S. Art Gallery)

Jaana was discovered at a very young age to have a talent and early on, art was a way to express herself. She started studying media design, audiovisual arts and creative writing. Later she shifted into fine art and found her way to the Mastery Program of Milan Art Institution. Currently she is working in Helsinki, Finland. Her studio is compact and contains multiple art supplies like oils, acrylics, spray paints and inks. 

What’s your background?

I was born in central Finland near by nature. Ever since childhood I knew that for me art was the only rule to follow, observe humanity and understand living through my own perspective. Later I started studying media design, audiovisual arts and creative writing. I even had a career as an journalist, but overturning what wasn’t working in my life, I needed to break my way into artistic freedom. I shifted into fine art and found my way to the Mastery Program of Milan Art Institution. During those studies I ascertained my voice to be related to the deeper liberation of creation. Currently I’m working in Helsinki, Finland, as a professional artist and writer. In addition to fine art, I’m also both a non-fiction and fiction author. 

What does it mean to you to win the Collectors Art Prize?

Winning the Collectors Art Prize means a lot to me and I’m very grateful. For me, this is the first proof of any kind that my art has the right direction and my work has meaning and place in the field of contemporary art.  This awakens desire to develop my skills even better. I hope that the Collectors Art Prize will open new doors for my art to find collectors, gallery representations and audiences.

What do you think is the role of art in the world today?

As far as I can see, the role of art and artists in today's world is to remind people that the freedom to pursue one's own soul purpose is a basic right. Through art, every dysfunctional rule and structure is found to be outdated. Artists lead by example by showing the courage to go their own way, break free from restraints, be the shape shifters and the creators of a better new world. Artists are the pioneers to show how anyone can claim back their energetic sovereignty and the ability to create and thus their freedom. 

What would it be if you could change one thing about the art world?

I believe that in the coming years, the self-representation of artists will take a more significant role and it enables a wider scale for making art than we might have seen so far in the field of institutional focused art. What I’d like to see is the breaking down of heavy structures around making and presentation of art. I think that art should be more accessible than it currently is in many cases.

What are your most significant professional achievements?

I think my biggest achievement in my career so far is that I became a professional artist in the first place. It required dedication and courage, which I didn’t find in myself until a few years ago. Besides that, I have also achieved a lot as a writer when I got a publisher for my first novel. That I cannot say yet, how far my art will reach and what I might achieve in upcoming years. 

What do you wish to tell viewers about your work that might not come out explicitly? What do you hope to inspire with your artwork?

I want my artworks to evoke an invitation. That the viewer might feel some strange attraction, some energy that can be sensed, that fascinates, but perhaps cannot immediately be understood. I believe that the power of change is a part of life, the idea of metamorphosis is continuing. Through my art I want to embrace the beginning of something new. 

I also hope that viewers can feel the invitation to discover their dark side, feel the fascination to explore it and own it. That’s why the stories I want to tell always include a seed of change. My art offers an alternative way of looking at normative life, and I believe that creating a new alternative world can be found outside the reality as we know it.

What advice would you give to the upcoming generation of artists?

I’d like to encourage emerging artists to listen to themselves. It's not worth waiting for someone from outside to give you permission to be an artist, such permissions will never occur. You need to take permission into your own hands and decide to be an artist.

In what direction would you like to see your career go in the next five years?

I would like to see my career as an artist to develop both ways internationally and nationally. Through exhibitions and other collaborations I’d like to obtain more exposure in galleries. During the next five years I’ve had many solo exhibitions in galleries here in Finland and abroad. Also in coming years, I would be honored to be selected to participate in renowned art fairs. 

Country Finland

Website www.jaanakivi.com