Biography
Ville Kansanen (b.1984) is a Finnish multidisciplinary artist based in California. He works with photography, video, painting, installation- and land art.
Ville is an autodidactic lens-based artist, who has been making work since 2006. His work has been featured in several print and online publications such as American Photo Magazine, GUP Magazine, SFAQ and Diffusion Magazine. His awards include a Lucie Award and IPA Fine Art Photographer of the Year. Most recently he was a finalist for Focus PhotoLA. His first book NUMEN was released by Datz Press in 2022. He has exhibited in solo- and group shows internationally.
Ville employs the traditions and techniques of photography, land– and installation art to create work that exists and functions within photographic space. Most of his work is made in the desert where geologic time is made visible; where habitable landscape reaches its terminal state; and where cultural memories of ancient religions remain tangible. It is within those conditions that Ville constructs his images, often from several exposures and over long spans of time. He returns to the same desolate locations year-after-year for weeks at a time. Living and working out of his work truck, he constructs installations from wood, boards, strings, ropes, native rocks- and soil. Often, he will revive and recycle materials from weathered installations, left on-site from previous months and years. Eventually all the materials are collected – leaving no trace of his presence. For Ville, photography presents a space to form an internal spiritual relationship with Nature.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Datz Museum. Seoul, Korea. March 2020. (three-person show)
Center for Fine Art Photography. Fort Collins, CO. April, 2017.
Galerie Hiltawsky. Berlin, Germany. March, 2016.
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SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS & FESTIVALS
Narrative on Medium. Space-Be Gallery. Seoul, Korea. April 2022
Focus PhotoLA Finalists Show. Los Angeles. September 2021
John Chervinsky Scholarship Award Finalists Show. Griffin Museum. Winchester, MA. September 2017
Self-portraits as a Concept. In Focus Galerie. Cologne, Germany. November 2016
Experimenta IV. Galerie 19. Paderborn, Germany. October 2016
Diffusion Annual Show. Asmith Gallery. Johnson City, TX. September 2016
Art Prize Group Show. Paul Collins Gallery. Grand Rapids, MI. September 2016
Docks Art Fair. Lyon, France. September 2016
Mt. Rokko Photo Festival. Kobe, Japan. August 2016
Summersetting. Galerie Hiltawsky. Berlin, Germany. July 2016
Center Forward. Center for Fine Art Photography. Fort Collins, CO. September 2015
Botanicals. Kat Kiernan Gallery. Lexington, VA. October 2013
Whose Self Portrait. Joy Wai Gallery. New York, NY. June 2011
Synthesis. The Darkroom. New Orleans, LA. 14. May – June 2011
Top 40. Los Angeles Center for Digital Art. Los Angeles, CA. May 2008
OFCOM Report Exhibition. Charity Auction, London, UK. February 2008
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AWARDS
2021 Focus PhotoLA Summer Top 20 (Finalist)
2015 Lucie Awards. Discovery of the Year
2015 International Photography Awards. Fine Art Photographer of the Year
2014 International Kontinent Awards. Fine Art Photographer of the Year
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Dodho. Natural phenomena; Numen. 2020
Diffusion Magazine. Volume VIII. 2016
Brennpunkt Magazin für Fotografie. Procession of Spectres. March 2016
Art at Berlin. Procession of Spectres. March 2016
The World Weekly. Procession of Spectres. December 2015
Pixel Magazine. Chronicling Depression. November 2015
American Photo Mag. See the 2015 Lucie Award Winners. October 2015
GUP Magazine. The Procession of Spectres. September 2015
Exposure Awards Magazine. Body Collection. August 2015
SFAQ. Damage Control. August 2015
Rinse.io. Who are we? March 2015
Dodho. February 2015
L’Oeil de la Photographie. February 2015
SFMOMA. Submission Friday. January 2015
PH Magazine. April 2014. Issue 42.
Descry Magazine. Spring 2010. Issue 1.
Photofan. France. March – April 2008. Issue 19.
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BOOKS
NUMEN. Datz Press. 300 copies. 2022
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TALKS & LECTURES
Open Show LA #64. September 19, 2021
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COLLECTIONS
Datz Museum of Art. Seoul, South Korea.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Philosopher’s Stone (three-person show). Datz Museum. Seoul, Korea. March 2020.
Procession of Spectres. Center for Fine Art Photography. Fort Collins, CO. April, 2017.
Procession of Spectres. Galerie Hiltawsky. Berlin, Germany. March, 2016.
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GROUP EXHIBITIONS & FESTIVALS
Procession of Spectres. Cornel/Henry. San Diego, CA. May 2021 (online)
Narrative on Medium. Space-Be Gallery. Seoul, Korea. April 2022
Focus PhotoLA Finalists Show. Los Angeles. September 2021
John Chervinsky Scholarship Award Finalists Show. Griffin Museum. Winchester, MA. September 2017
Self-portraits as a Concept. In Focus Galerie. Cologne, Germany. November 2016
Experimenta IV. Galerie 19. Paderborn, Germany. October 2016
Diffusion Annual Show. Asmith Gallery. Johnson City, TX. September 2016
Art Prize Group Show. Paul Collins Gallery. Grand Rapids, MI. September 2016
Docks Art Fair. Lyon, France. September 2016
Mt. Rokko Photo Festival. Kobe, Japan. August 2016
Summersetting. Galerie Hiltawsky. Berlin, Germany. July 2016
Auction Group Show. MoPA San Diego. San Diego, CA. October 2015
Center Forward. Center for Fine Art Photography. Fort Collins, CO. September 2015
Botanicals. Kat Kiernan Gallery. Lexington, VA. October 2013
Whose Self Portrait. Joy Wai Gallery. New York, NY. June 2011
Synthesis. The Darkroom. New Orleans, LA. 14. May – June 2011
August Group Show. The Hive Gallery & Studios. Los Angeles, CA. August 2008
May Group Show. The Hive Gallery & Studios. Los Angeles, CA. May 2008
Top 40. Los Angeles Center for Digital Art. Los Angeles, CA. May 2008
March Group Show. The Hive Gallery & Studios. Los Angeles, CA. March 2008
OFCOM Report Exhibition. Charity Auction, London, UK. February 2008
February Group Show. The Hive Gallery & Studios. Los Angeles, CA. February 2008
January Group Show. The Hive Gallery & Studios. Los Angeles, CA. January 2008
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AWARDS
2021 Focus PhotoLA Summer Top 20 (Finalist)
2015 Lucie Awards. Discovery of the Year
2015 International Photography Awards. Fine Art Photographer of the Year
2014 International Kontinent Awards. Fine Art Photographer of the Year
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SELECT PUBLICATIONS
Dodho Magazine. Natural Phenomena: Numen. 2020
Diffusion Magazine. Volume VIII. 2016
Brennpunkt Magazin für Fotografie. Procession of Spectres at Galerie Hiltawsky. March 2016
Art at Berlin. Procession of Spectres at Galerie Hiltawsky. March 2016
The World Weekly. Procession of Spectres. December 2015
Pixel Magazine. Chronicling Depression. November 2015
American Photo Mag. See Photographs from The 2015 Lucie Award Winners. October 2015
GUP Magazine. The Procession of Spectres. September 2015
Exposure Awards Magazine. Body Collection. August 2015
SFAQ. Damage Control: A Conversation Between Kim Anno & Ville Kansanen. August 2015
Rinse.io. Who are we? March 2015
Dodho Magazine. February 2015
L’Oeil de la Photographie. February 2015
SFMOMA. Submission Friday. January 2015
PH Magazine. April 2014. Issue 42.
Descry Magazine. Spring 2010. Issue 1.
Photofan. France. March – April 2008. Issue 19.