Designing printed fabrics for Marimekko was a fortuitous start for Inka Kivalo on her path to success as an artist. She is however best known for her magnificent colourful tapestries, and her imaginatively embroidered jewellery also features prominently in her work.

The textile sculptures Inka has created in more recent years show an impressive grace and are expressive in both their colour and form. Inka has worked with textile art throughout her career, showing tremendous creativity in producing accessible textile art that is striking in its beauty.

The nomination was based on Inka’s collective body of work, but it was her textile sculptures that ultimately convinced the panel of judges. This is something brand new in Nordic textile art, and something which quickly won the admiration of all the judges.

Congratulations Inka Kivalo, winner of The Nordic Award in Textiles 2019.

The Nordic Award in Textiles is awarded for the fourteenth time. The price, for SEK 150 000, will be handed over on September 16, 2017 in connection with a gala performance at The Textile Fashion Centre in Borås. At the same day Grethe Sørensen has vernissage for her exhibition at Abecita Konstmuseum. www.grethesorensen.dk

The award will be presented in Borås in November 2015.

The Textile Museum of Sweden in Borås will stage a major representative exhibition of Gunvor Nervold Antonsen’s art with the opening in conjunction with the award ceremony.

http://gunvornervoldantonsen.com/

Statement of the jury:
“Annika Ekdahl is a prominent innovator of a traditional textile technique, tapestry weaving. In her work, she combines historical experience with the elusive contemporary era. The magnificent works balance baroque weight with digital transience, resulting in multi-layered stories of man’s existential requirements. The virtual is captured in a physical world of textile fibres. Annika Ekdahl’s images are packed full of historical references and contemporary snapshots, all aspects of life etched into the textile material. The jury believes that this is an artistry which is unrivalled in textile art today.”

http://annikaekdahl.se

Statement of the jury:
“A presentation of Hrafnhildur Arnardòttir’s diverse artistry includes everything from collaborations with performance artists, singers and fashion designers to composers. There is one clear thread in her production, namely her passion for hair – both human and synthetic. She has lived in New York for many years, but her emotional ties to Iceland are strong.”

http://shoplifter.us

Statement of the jury:
“Silja Puranen has developed a quite unique way of perceiving human vulnerability and inadequacy. Her artistry exudes a compassionate human warmth which delves deep into the existential elements we all think about. In her work, she succeeds in both updating textile art and creating something moving.”

http://siljapuranen.com

Statement of the jury:
“Anne Damgaard creates clothing art – high-class Danish haute couture. Complex designs and time-consuming draping of light, shimmering fabrics. The decoration is often severe – but determined by motion. Her creations are characterised by a sensual elegance, dramatic fantasy, rooted in inspiration from many different art forms. Characterised by a lively associative talent, she immerses us in a totally sensual experience.”

http://annedamgaard.dk

Statement of the jury:
“May Bente Aronsen works with wool felt and and polyester cloth, but her tools are light and shadow. She adapts and cuts in textile materials, but she creates with space and light. Her works are built up into three dimensions of two-dimensional layers or small modules. She models volume, direction and motion. Then comes the light.”

http://maybentearonsen.no

Statement of the jury:
“Kazuyo Nomura has a large and extensive understanding of textile handicrafts, which she succeeds in uniting with the challenges of new materials when the creative process develops.

Experience from historical material is to be found when she moves between reconstructions and free art.

The elaborate, delicate choice of techniques and materials often creates gentle, pale works that seem suspended in the air and which capture the viewer’s interest and attention.”

http://kazuyo.se

Statement of the jury:
“Hrafnhildur Sigurdardottir was chosen as the recipient of the award for her experimentation with various textile techniques and materials, with playfulness and humour being important ingredients.

Her work is characterised by clear gender perspectives with the focus on the female, accommodating both aesthetic and ideological dimensions in its exploration of the political landscape.”

http://hsig.net

Statement of the jury:
“Pasi Välimaa immerses himself in the textile materials, extracting every reaction, every nuance and every fluctuation of light.

He tries techniques impartially and succeeds in combining bold innovation with traditional materials and methods in such a way that the result is self-evident and subtly spectacular.”

http://hdk.gu.se/sv/personal/pasi-valimaa

Statement of the jury:
”Eva Schjölberg’s artistry falls between clothing and sculpture. She uses an abstract idiom and creates powerful experiences for the viewer and works at a high artistic and creative level.

Eva Schjölberg’s connection to Norwegian and Japanese art and culture is important for the development of Nordic textile art.”

http://home.online.no/~eschjoel/

Statement of the jury:
“Nina Hart has a strong artistic sentiment, demonstrated by her experimenting and sculpting with different textile materials. She has a strong desire to push the boundaries of her textile expression and also works with photos.

She demonstrates the relationship between design and sculpture in her project, where the earth tones of cotton fibres and banana plants take space.”

www.ninahart.dk

Statement of the jury:
“Agneta Hobin has penetrated and immersed herself in a material in order to test its innermost possibilities, where she tries out new perspectives from a Nordic atmosphere and a Nordic light.”

www.agnetahobin.fi

Statement of the jury:
“Monica Nilsson is very talented at pushing back the boundaries of expression in textile art, where she switches between different techniques and methods of working. Light, sound, motion and installations create new forms and experiences for the viewer.”

www.monicanilsson.se