Kaija Aarikka

Wooden rams, playful jars and colourful wooden jewellery – Kaija Aarikka’s products belong to the cozy core of Finnish design. The exhibition presents the designer’s diverse body of work through both beloved classics and plenty of joy of discovery.

In autumn 2023, Kunsthalle Helsinki will be filled with Kaija Aarikka’s diverse designs. The richly colourful exhibition explores Aarikka’s wide-reaching, 60-year career as a designer.

Kaija Aarikka is especially known as a designer of jewellery, decorative items, and small interior objects. Her design work has been accessible to many: Aarikka’s wooden gnomes, colourful tin cans, and eye-catching candlesticks are familiar objects from many homes and popular collectibles.

As a designer, Aarikka was brave and willing to experiment, and her extensive body of work also includes areas unknown to the general public, such as precious metal jewellery and glassware, which offer the joy of discovery and broaden the usual perception of her life’s work.

Play, colour, and joy characterise not only Aarikka’s design, but also the exhibition at Kunsthalle Helsinki. The exhibition is carried out together with the family of Kaija Aarikka, and is curated by Kunsthalle Helsinki’s exhibition manager Eeva Holkeri. The exhibition architecture is designed by Hanna Anonen, who received Finland’s Young Designer of the Year award in 2021.