With a long and productive career, Veikko Hirvimäki is known for his shamanistic sculptures and installations carved from wood. Hirvimäki can take a rough piece of wood and coax out the life and gestures of a figure. His elaborate wall installations are like stories composed of memorabilia, amulets, tools, symbols, or signs.
While at first glance Hirvimäki’s works most powerfully recall Finno-Ugric culture, his artwork seems to bind fragments of different cultures and time periods to create images of a universal nature. Earthy, mystical, and primitive, Hirvimäki’s artwork conveys the artist’s concern for nature, its importance, and its conservation. All the while Hirvimäki does not lose the sense of humor and whimsy in his intimate portrayals of animal and human figures.
Originally a painter, Hirvimäki achieved acclaim in the 1980s for his abstract stone monuments. He exchanged abstract content for animal figures around 2000. His work is represented in many of Finland’s prestigious public collections, including Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma and the Saastamoinen Foundation Collection. The artist lives and works in Ballaigues, Switzerland.