Yasushi Koyama
Metsänhaltijat
30.7.-23.8.2026
The elk has been the living spirit of the forest. Every winter its antlers fell to the ground, and every spring they grew again like the branches of a tree. In this, ancient people saw the forest’s eternal cycle of death and renewal. The antlers were trees, and the elk was the forest itself. The elk with antlers was a sacred animal in ancient Finland, just like the deer with antlers in Japan.
This exhibition features wooden and ceramic sculptures of elk (moose), reindeer, deer and other forest animals. The Stone Age sculpture Elk’s Head of Huittinen inspired me to create my own elk head sculpture using naturally shed elk antlers found in the forest. In the artist residency in Jakobstad (Pietarsaari in Finnish), I got real elk antlers and created the sculpture Elk’s head of Jakobstad. I also created larger ceramic sculptures of elk, reindeer and deer with my new technique.
The title of the exhibition is Metsänhaltijat. Metsä means forest, and haltija means, among other things, owner, protector and mythical being in Finnish. I consider a forest to be a place for the great circle of life – a place where every being is born from the earth, returns to it in death, and reappears in new forms. I examine the relationship between humans and nature by using a metaphor of elk and forest animals as “metsänhaltijat” through the viewpoint of folklore, anthropology and archeology. In my exhibition, I want to present the forest anthropology of the elk and other forest animals.
My animal figures have been described as cute, innocent and humorous. Most of my wooden works are made of one piece of wood by using hand chisels. I have learned traditional wood sculpturing from Maori, Ainu, Sekai and Finnish sculptors. Finnish nature, design and illustration, Finnish artists Katja Tukiainen and Kim Simonsson, and Finnish Moomins cartoons have inspired me. Japanese manga, anime and Yoshitomo Nara’s neo-pop art have also strongly influenced my artistic expression.
Biography
Yasushi Koyama graduated from the Saimaa University of Applied Sciences (now part of the LAB University of Applied Sciences) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2010 and Master of Fine Arts in 2016. Koyama is a member of the Association of Finnish sculptors, Helsinki Artists’ Association, Ornamo and Kuvasto ry.
Exhibitions: Galleria Aarni, Galleria Duetto, Galleria Ars Libera, Galleria Uusi Kipinä, Galleria Uusikuva, Galleria Pleiku, Galleria Becker, Auran Galleria, Annantalo, MUU Kaapeli, Galleria Jangva, Napa Galleria, NRW-Forum Düsseldorf in Germany, OBJEKTI 6.0 in Espoo, Mänttä Art Festival, Finnish Institute in France, Gumbostrand Konst & Form, Supermarket Art Fair Stockholm, Lokal Galleria
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