The sense of smell doesn’t let us look at the world from the outside. It works before words.
Raimo Saarinen builds installations from living plants, soil, stone and scents he makes himself. His works often feature species whose history reaches back hundreds of millions of years, and the spaces change over the course of an exhibition: plants grow, soil dries, the scent shifts.
Saarinen is interested in how the Western habit of viewing nature from a distance has shaped our environment and our possible futures. Through scent he collapses that distance – the visitor becomes part of the space rather than its observer.
Hajuaisti ei anna katsoa maailmaa ulkopuolelta. Se toimii ennen sanoja.
Raimo Saarinen rakentaa installaatioita elävistä kasveista, maasta, kivestä ja itse tekemistään tuoksuista. Hänen teoksissaan kasvaa usein lajeja, joiden historia ulottuu satojen miljoonien vuosien taakse, ja tilat elävät näyttelyn aikana: kasvit kasvavat, maa kuivuu, tuoksu muuttuu.
Saarista kiinnostaa, miten länsimainen tapa katsoa luontoa etäältä on muovannut ympäristöämme ja mahdollisia tulevaisuuksiamme. Tuoksun avulla hän purkaa tämän etäisyyden: katsojasta tulee osa tilaa, ei sen tarkkailija.
CV
Raimo Saarinen
1984 Born in Helsinki, Finland
Education
2014–2017 (MFA), Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Helsinki,
Study programme in Sculpture
2011–2014 (BFA), Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Helsinki,
Study programme in Sculpture
2005–2011 Aalto University School of Art and design, Degree
Program in Ceramic and Glass Design (BA)
2010 Athens School of Fine Arts, department of sculpture,
Athens, Greece
Solo and Duo Exhibitions
2026–2027 Haihtuvat maailmat, Hyvinkää Art Museum, Hyvinkää, Finland
2026 Sinnenas tid / The Time of the Senses, Art Lab Gnesta, Gnesta, Sweden (with Aron Fogelström)
2019 Forgotten Tomorrow, Finlandsinstitutet Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
2019 Silmät auki pimeässä, Turun taidemuseon studio, Turku, Finland
2018 Kasvitieteellinen puutarha, Viherpaja, Vantaa, Finland
2013 Devil’s Nest -Pseudo Scientific Studies of Nature, Vapaan taiteen tila, Helsinki, Finland
Exhibitions
2026 Symbioosi, Malva – Lahti Museum of Visual Arts, Lahti
2025 Quiet Hours, Maison Louis Carré, France
2025 Helsinki Biennial, Helsinki
2024 Polygala Biennale, Finnish Museum of Natural History, Helsinki
2023 In Another Time, Oho Gallery, Helsinki
2022 In Search of the Present, EMMA Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo
2021 Between us, Amos Rex, Helsinki
2019 Cholula, proceso abierto/Space invaders, Cholula, Mexico
2019 Beings with, Fiskars Village biennale, Fiskars
2019 Nuoret 2019, Taidehalli, Helsinki
2019 Päivien sisällä yö, Galleria Huuto, Helsinki
2018 Miltä koti tuntuu, Jätkäsaari, Helsinki
2018 Pori Biennale III - Centennial, Pori
2018 Goodwill, Gruppen Fyra & Maija Nurmio, Kanneltalo
2018 Luonnontiloja, Lapuan taidemuseo, Lapua
2017 Make Art Political / Make Art Public, Galleria Augusta, Suomenlinna
2017 Antroposeeni, MAA-tila, Helsinki
2017 Keskeneräiset utopiat, Kantola, Kotka
2017 Kohtauksia pöydillä, Kirpilä Art Collection, Helsinki
2017 Vihreä maa kukkiva kaupunki, Kerava Art Museum, Kerava
2016 Raimo Saarinen & Iida Valkonen, Project Room, Helsinki
2016 Matter Matter, Exhibition Laboratory, Helsinki
2016 Kuvan kevät, Exhibition Laboratory, Helsinki, Finland
2014 Misleaded, With Vanina Tsvetkova, EMG Factors, Groningen, Netherlands
2014 Installations, KUVA/TILA, Helsinki, Finland
2013 Kandinäyttely, KUVA/TILA, Helsinki, Finland
2013 Foreign Affairs, European Exchange Academy, Beelitz, Germany
2012 L3, Helsinki, Finland
2012 Art Safari, Berlin, Germany
2012 Kaiku galleria, Helsinki, Finland
2011 Tsiigaa, Art goes kapakka, Helsinki, Finland
2010 Orfeu Negro, Athens, Greece
2009 Graal it, Gallery Atski, Helsinki, Finland
2009 State of Mind, Gallery Airi, Helsinki, Finland
2008 New Finnish Design- export, University of Art and Design Helsinki
2008 Space and Borderline, Gallery Atski, Helsinki
Public Commissions
2028 Public artwork, Laakso Joint Hospital, Helsinki (forthcoming)
2022 Floating Island, Rauma, Finland
2020-2022 Keksitty menneisyys, Helsingin taidemuseo HAM Kalasatama, Helsinki, Finland
2017–2026 Neosgaia, Kirpilä Art Collection, Helsinki
2017 Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki
Residencies
2023–2024 Jan van Eyck Academie, Maastricht, Netherlands
2017–2018 HIAP – Helsinki International Artist Programme, Suomenlinna, Finland
Grants and Awards
2025 Proposal shortlisted for the Finnish Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2026
2025 Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike), 12-month working grant
2024 Kone Foundation, 1-month working grant
2023–2024 Saastamoinen Foundation & Jan van Eyck Academie, 11 months
2022 Arts Promotion Centre Finland, 6-month working grant
2021 Finnish Cultural Foundation, 6-month working grant
2019 Greta och Alfred Runebergs Stiftelse, project grant
2019 Arts Promotion Centre Finland, exhibition grant
2018 Paulo Foundation, project grant
2018 Kone Foundation, 1-month working grant
2017 Academy of Fine Arts Support Foundation, scholarship
2016 Friends of the Academy of Fine Arts, scholarship
2016 Anita Snellman Foundation, scholarship
Works in collections
Maison Louis Carré, France
Kirpilä Art Collection
Academy of Fine Arts Helsinki
Selected Press
Wallpaper*, In Search of the Present, 2022
STIRworld, In Search of the Present, 2022
NRC (Netherlands), 2021
Around Journal 04/2019
Helsingin Sanomat, Yle, Turun Sanomat (2017–2022)
Radio Helsinki, interview, 20.8.2025
Memberships
Association of Finnish Sculptors
Bioart Society
Supported by
With the collaboration of Fundación Ernesto Ventós