Sakari Kannosto

Sakari Kannosto (b. 1973) lives in Vantaa and works in Helsinki and Espoo, Finland. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts 2005. Kannosto has exhibited widely since 1998, and his work has been shown in various fairs in the USA. After completing an artist-in-residence at the Arabia Art Department in Helsinki, he became a permanent member in January 2020. His work can be found in the collections of Aalto University, the Finnish State Art Deposit, and the Art Museum of Tampere. He Is represented by Hostler Burrows Gallery in the USA. His latest solo exhibition was at Hostler Burrows’s HB381 Gallery in New York in 2022, and the next solo exhibition will be in Gallery Sculptor in Helsinki in 2025. Kannosto is also a Lecturer of Fine Arts at Omnia in Espoo. In 2014 he was granted an honorary award for environmental education.

Sakari Kannosto’s fantastical and figurative sculptures are inspired by fables, ancient mythologies and Finnish folklore. His part human, part mermaid, part animal, part plant beings refer to the myth that animals can shape shift, traveling between worlds as protectors. Imbued with whimsy and humor, Kannosto’s work is also underscored by a deep environmental consciousness. By reimagining a future where humans unite with nature to create adaptive, survivalist families, he addresses the potentially disastrous environmental consequences brought on by the industrialized world. Kannosto has used many different materials in his career. Now his primary focus is on ceramic sculptures and large-scale installations.

Visit Sakari Kannosto’s website and Instagram page.