VISITING EXHIBITION

For one was a flickering flame
The second was dry wood
But I was staring at the fire
And it got so hot for me
(Words of a song by Erkki Mäkinen)

Flickering flame

Sculptor Erkki Alajärvi (1942-2015)
Museum-Gallery Andreas Alariesto
12.12.2024 – 28.5.2025

The anonymous sculpture inspired the name of Erkki “Aate” Alajärvi’s exhibition. Erkki Alajärvi’s works were made with a strong sense of drama and the topics often came from surprising elements. Humor was characteristic of Erkki Alajärvi’s art.

In art, the subjects also conveyed deep understanding and thinking based on reading a lot and curiosity about different aspects of human beings. When exploring works in the mind, many kinds of ideas circulate. The most important theme is the story of the human being.
Helena Junttila, curator
Erkki “Aate” Alajärvi (1942-2015) Sculptor

Erkki Alajärvi was a significant artist from Sodankylä: sculptor, caricaturist, writer, set designer, wrestler and cultural influencer. His works contained humor, eroticism, surrealism and were strongly distinctive; Aate’s sculptures. Erkki Alajärvi fulfilled his calling as an artist in everything he did, and he always did things in his own way. His works expressed the tragedy and comedy of being human. Erkki Alajärvi mainly carved wooden sculptures. He was granted a state artist’s pension in 2013.

Wrestler, writer, cartoonist
Erkki Alajärvi wrote six books and edited the book Raskaan sarjan runoja (Heavyweight Poetry), which

contained poems written by him and other master wrestlers. In addition to Alajärvi, Eero Suvilehto,

Pertti Ukkola, Osmo Hekkala, Tomas Johansson and Olympic champion Aleksander Karelin wrote the

collection of poems. In wrestling, Alajärvi achieved the Finnish Championship gold medal in Greco-Roman style in 1966 and the Finnish Championship silver medal in 1972. Erkki Alajärvi drew cartoons for the local newspaper Sompio for almost 40 years. The newspaper Sompio published a book of the cartoons, “Aate”, in 2018.

Set designer
Erkki Alajärvi worked in the set design department of the Finnish National Opera from 1971 to 1976. He also made the sets for the opening performance of the new Opera House in 1993, when the ballet Swan Lake was performed. The Wizard opera trilogy was performed in Äkäslompolo from 1991 to 2001, and Erkki Alajärvi designed the theatre structures and staged the performances in the area. Through his profession as a set designer, he became familiar with styrofoam sculpting; the material was easy to work with, move, and could be painted.

An extensive memorial exhibition of Erkki Alajärvi’s art was organized in Sodankylä in 2018 by local cultural association Sodankylän Kulttuuri. There are many big sculptors and reliefs in public places in Sodankylä, for example Municipality of Sodankylä, Firehouse and hospital.