Bio

Riiko Sakkinen is an artist, a dissident and a one-man resistance army. He is the founder of Turbo­realism, an anti-capitalist art movement.

Sakkinen has worked globally, for instance, during the Syrian Civil War in Damascus and Aleppo, in the midst of unrest in Beirut, in the time of the Mexican Drug War in Monterrey and in Kyiv while Russia bombed Ukraine. He is the initiator of Salon de Peinture Grand-Popo, a painting collective in Benin, West Africa.

Sakkinen was born in 1976 in Helsinki. He lives in Spain since 2003 and is head­quartered in Pepino, a tiny village in the province of Toledo. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki, graduating in 2002.

Sakkinen’s art has been exhibited widely around the world including the MoMA, New York; Nationalmuseum, Stockholm; Kiasma, Helsinki; Camden Arts Centre, London; Artipelag, Sweden; Musac, León, Spain; and Serlachius, Mänttä, Finland.

Sakkinen’s works are part of permanent collections of several museums, including the MoMA, New York; Kiasma, Helsinki; HAM, Helsinki; Amos Rex, Helsinki; Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf; Bury Art Museum, United Kingdom; and Serlachius, Mänttä, Finland, which houses an extensive selection of his major works and paraphernalia.

Sakkinen’s provocative art has been censored in China, South Korea and Finland. In addition to his art practice, he has been the director of MuNA – Museum of No Art, a dystopic art institution.

2024


Inaugurates three solo shows in Finland in nine days. Tries to be an Instagram art star without any success. Opens two more solo shows in his native country – one in collaboration with his composer stepbrother Erkki Veltheim – on consecutive days. Walks seven million steps.

Solo Shows


Business Class War
Makasiini Contemporary
Turku,
Finland
Propaganda Boombox
Sound Art Society
Helsinki
Collaboration with Erkki Veltheim. Commission of Defunensemble
Los Moimoi de Fuengirola
Serlachius
Mänttä,
Finland
Curated by Pauli Sivonen
Turborealist Color Theory
Galerie Forsblom
Helsinki
Château Sakkinen
Murun viinibaari
Helsinki

Group Shows


Drawing Exhibition at the Arctic Circle
Galleria Napa
Rovaniemi,
Finland
Pienet ilot
Delphian Gallery / Toinen silmä
Helsinki
Hells Is Empty and All the Devils Are Here
Proyectos Raúl Zamudio
New York
Spin Doctors
Group Global 3000
Berlin
Curated by Tom Albrecht
Konkretismi. Geometrische Wirklichkeiten
Sammlung Peters-Messer
Viersen, Germany
Curated by Mika Minetti
Patrons
Serlachius
Mänttä,
Finland
As Salon de Peinture Grand-Popo. Curated by Pauli Sivonen
Biennial Means Necessary II
Proyectos Raúl Zamudio
New York
Winter Show
Piretti Art Gallery
Knokke,
Belgium

2023


Concentrates in a year-long research project about the Finnish community in the Spanish seaside resort town Fuengirola traveling there several times. Squats an unfinished and abandoned house owned by a bank and organizes there an exhibition. Travels to Kyiv invited by local cultural organizations during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Raises money for UNHCR – The United Nations Refugee Agency – with his Euro Dreams campaign.

Solo Shows


España Vaciada
Adosada Abandonada
Cervera de los Montes,
Spain
Collaboration with Luis J Snchz
Fuge suomalaisille
Unauthorized urban intervention
Fuengirola,
Spain

Group Shows


Wonder Cake
The Wrong Biennale
Online
Curated by Nomi Abeliovich
Tryst
Torrance Art Museum
Torrance, CA,
United States
Project curated by Raúl Zamudio
Dreams and Visions - New Collection of the Nelimarkka Foundation
Halosenniemi Museum
Tuusula,
Finland
Curated by Minna Tuominen
Punk Up
Punkmuseo
Helsinki

2022


Serlachius Museums publishes a monograph in the series of the most important artists in their collection. Once again his portrait painting, this time representing prime minister Pedro Sánchez, is in the center of attention at Arco Madrid art fair. Food and drink are the subject matter of the year, first in an intervention at Hotel and Restaurant Museum in Helsinki and then in a solo show at Galerie Forsblom, where he trades with the visitors signed pea soup cans to food that is sent to war-torn Ukraine.

Solo Shows


Cheeseburger Nostrum Cotidianum
Galerie Forsblom
Helsinki
Feat. Salon de Peinture Grand-Popo and Nour Hourani. Special Guest Star: Samuil Angelov
Molotov Cocktail Happy Meal
Hotel and Restaurant Museum
Helsinki
Curated by Eeropekka Rislakki

Group Shows


Colours of Africa
Online
As Salon de Peinture Grand-Popo
Organized by Design Indaba, Cape Town
Laboratorio 21
Museolaboratorio
Città Sant'Angelo, Italy
Curated by Enzo de Leonibus
Morning Coffee on the Roof of a Town
Serlachius Museums
Mänttä,
Finland
Curated by Laura Kuurne
Art Lab
Hyvinkää Art Museum
Hyvinkää,
Finland

2021


Celebrates the 25th anniversary of his first solo show. Launches Turbomoney, an art currency increasing its price constantly. Moves to his new studio in Pepino. Establishes Turborealist Collectors’ Club.

Solo Shows


Pinocchio Politics
Piretti Art Gallery
Knokke,
Belgium
Turborealist Zoology
Galerie Forsblom
Helsinki

Group Shows


Corpi (non) sul Palco
Teatro Edi Barrio's, Risveglio di Periferia Festival
Milan
Curated by Andrea Contini
Miradas del Norte
Galería Kernel
Cáceres,
Spain

2020


Drawing Franco Wasn’t as Bad as They Say gets all the media attention at ARCOmadrid art fair. Gives in two days over fifty interviews to the press, radio and TV. Some people mistakenly believe the ironic work supports fascism. Two animal themed solo shows in Helsinki just before the corona virus lockdown. At the Natural History Museum the drawings are installed next to the taxidermies in the permanent exhibition. At Galerie Forsblom’s show AALF – Anthropomorphic Animals’ Liberation Front is the protagonist. The exhibition at Makasiini Contemporary deals with his artisthood and narcissistic personality disorder. Benin based portrait painting collective Salon de Peinture Grand-Popo gets a large commission from Serlachius Museums. Begins to build a new studio in Pepino.

Solo Shows


Top 10 des Présidents Africains
La Légende
Grand-Popo, Benin
As Salon de Peinture Grand-Popo
Riiko Sakkinen's Megalomania
Makasiini Contemporary
Turku, Finland
Taxonomy of Anthropomorphic Animals
Natural History Museum
Helsinki
Animal Show Business
Galerie Forsblom
Helsinki

Group Shows


Show Me the Signs
Blum & Poe
Los Angeles
Beelzebub’s Tales
Empty Circle
New York
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
Rarity Summer Contemporary Exhibition
Rarity Gallery
Mykonos, Greece
Group Show
Piretti Art Gallery
Knokke, Belgium
Group Show
Gallery Red
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
El gesto multiplicado
San Prudencio
Talavera de la Reina, Spain
Curated by Antonio Olmos
We Make History Not Money
Proyectos Raúl Zamudio
New York

2019


Shows Bad Hair Day Leaders, paintings made in Benin, exhibited in Tampere and Oulu, Finland. The BBC writes about Salon de Painture Grand-Popo. Our Favorite Kings is one of the most photographed works at ARCOmadrid art fair, many interviews at the fair and later at the studio.

Solo Shows


Bad Hair Day Leaders
Himmelblau
Tampere, Finland
Feat. Louis Houenoude

Group Shows


The Cure of Folly
Galleria Contempo
Pergine Valsugana, Italy
Curated by Dora Bulart and Raúl Zamudio
Group Show
Piretti Art Gallery
Knokke, Belgium
Signs Taken for Wonders
Jonas Mekas Visual Arts Center
Vilnius
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
Alteración / Desorden & Compresión
Tokio Galeria at Background Studio
Madrid
Orphans of Painting II
Ethan Cohen KuBe
Beacon, New York
Curated by Raúl Zamudio and Ethan Cohen
Growth and Loss - Hair in Contemporary Art
Oulu Museum of Art
Oulu, Finland
Curated by Elina Vieru
Classic Works of Fine Art
Serlachius Museums
Mänttä, Finland
Curated by Veikko Halmetoja
Distant Cool Shadow
Serlachius Museums
Mänttä, Finland
Curated by Laura Kuurne and Hannele Karppinen

2018


A five-week residency in Grand-Popo, Benin. Works with a local commercial sign painter and sets up a portrait business Salon de Peinture Grand-Popo. Releases The Best of All Possible Worlds – a luxury edition book of his drawings. Sets up his studio at Galerie Forsblom for two weeks and half for the show Riiko Sakkinen’s Drawing Room.

Solo Shows


Late Night Capitalism
Makasiini Contemporary
Turku, Finland
Riiko Sakkinen's Drawing Room
Galerie Forsblom
Helsinki
Bad Hair Day Leaders
La Légende
Grand-Popo, Benin
Feat. Louis Houenoude
Capitalist Color Theory
Galería Kernel
Cáceres, Spain

Group Shows


Vs. Cravan
Palestra Visconti, ARCI Bellezza
Milan
Curated by Elisabetta Longari
Everything & Nothing
Empty Circle
New York
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
Poesía objetual
El Salvador
Talavera de la Reina, Spain
Curated by Antonio Olmos
Glitch Art
Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art
Vaasa, Finland
Curated by Tanja Sihvonen
Yovo Star
Villa Karo
Grand-Popo, Benin
Schwarz Weiß
Städtische Galerie im Park
Viersen, Germany

2017


Closing Borders at Serlachius Museums is his most ambitious exhibition up to the date. Some visitors cry in the show. Does also another museum solo show: Presidential Game at Hyvinkää Art Museum with huge murals of all presidents of Finland – the visitors can vote their most loved and hated leaders.

Solo Shows


Presidential Game
Hyvinkää Art Museum
Hyvinkää, Finland
My Austrian Friends
Collectors Agenda
Vienna
Closing Borders
Serlachius Museums
Mänttä, Finland
Curated by Pauli Sivonen
White Trash Blues
Galerie Forsblom
Helsinki

Group Shows


With Seven-league Boots. Stop – Finland: Works from the Kiasma Collection
Art Museum Riga Bourse
Riga, Latvia
Curated by Rita Birzaka
House Games Triennial
Jyväskylä, Finland
The Rent Is Too Damn High
The Apartment
New York
Curated by Roma Primitivo Albear and Raúl Zamudio
The Border Pavilion
Research Pavilion
Venice, Italy
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
Orphans of Painting
Ethan Cohen Fine Arts
New York
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
Foreigners
Bury Art Museum & Sculpture Centre
Bury, United Kingdom
Curated by Tony Trehy
Art Goes Logomo
Logomo
Turku, Finland
Curated by Frej Forsblom
Finlayson Art Area 2017
Tampere, Finland
Curated by Pertti Ketonen. Project curated by Pauli Sivonen
Random Archive
Burt Art Museum & Sculpture Centre
Bury, United Kingdom
Refugiarte
Centre del Carmen
Valencia, Spain
Rascal
Artsi Vantaa Art Museum
Vantaa, Finland

2016


First museum solo shows outside of Finland at Bury Art Museum in the UK and Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. Travels with Serlachius Museum’s director Pauli Sivonen to Ceuta, Melilla, Lesvos, Calais Jungle and the Balkans following the routes of refugees and migrants preparing his show Closing Borders.

Solo Shows


The ABC of Capitalism
Bury Art Museum & Sculpture Centre
Bury, United Kingdom
Summer Job
Ti-la
Jyväskylä, Finland
Syrian Superman and Other Ceramic Plates from Talavera de la Reina
Nationalmuseum
Stockholm

Group Shows


Acts of Sedition
White Box
New York
Curated by Juan Puntes and Raúl Zamudio
Fish Story
Contempo 8 - International Contemporary Art Festival
Varna, Bulgaria
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
Inferno, Part Two
Pristine Galerie
Monterrey, Mexico
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
Refugiarte
El Salvador
Talavera de la Reina, Spain
Decoding
Bury Art Museum & Sculpture Centre
Bury, United Kingdom
Sinä & minä muotokuvassa
Artsi Vantaa Art Museum
Vantaa, Finland
The Enemy Within
Area: lugar de proyectos
Caguas, Puerto Rico
Curated by Raúl Zamudio

2015


First exhibition at Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki. Candidate in the elections of the legislature of Castilla-La Mancha. After the elections, resigns from the Communist Party of Spain. Moves from Cervera de los Montes to Pepino, the neighboring village, where he builds a new house. Exhibits black monochrome paintings in Stockholm in an exhibition celebrating the 100th anniversary of Malevich’s Black Square.

Solo Shows


Abajo el rey
Action in collaboration with the Spanish Communist Party
Talavera de la Reina,
Spain
Untitled
Amor de Barrio
Madrid
Turbo Realism
Galerie Forsblom
Helsinki

Group Shows


The Monochrome Symphony
Artipelag
Gustavsberg, Sweden
Valtio+
Turku, Finland
Lovebuzz
Titanik
Turku, Finland
Curated by Henna Aho and Ville Laaksonen
Summer 2015
Galerie Forsblom
Helsinki
Inside/Outside
QuadrART
Dornbirn, Austria
Curated by Simeon Brugger
Requiem (for VZT)
ARTRáfico de Arte
Mexico City
Curated by Raúl Zamudio

2014


Completes a series of big hand painted Talavera plates and exhibits them at Madrid’s ARCO art fair where he has a solo booth. Solo show Muna – Museum of No Art at the newly inaugurated Serlachius Museums in Finland.

Solo Shows


Capitalistes Sans Frontières
Cyan Gallery
Barcelona
MuNA - Museum of No Art
Serlachius Museums
Mänttä, Finland
Curated by Pauli Sivonen
Riiko Sakkinen Painted Himself into a Corner
Korjaamo Galleria
Helsinki
Used Panties and Dirty Bombs
Galleria Ville
Nurmijärvi, Finland
Curated by Eeropekka Rislakki

Group Shows


Bilder zwischen den Zeilen
Finnland-Institut
Berlin
Curated by Emil Karila
House Games Triennial
Jyväskylä, Finland
SuperPop!
Serlachius Museums
Mänttä, Finland
Curated by Timo Valjakka
Heponauta
Hyvinkää Art Museum
Hyvinkää, Finland
The Language of Lists
Bury Art Museum & Sculprure Centre
Bury, United Kingdom
Part of Text Festival
Midst the Line
Stedelijke Academie Sint-Niklaas
Sint-Niklaas, Belgium
Curated by Michael Pycke

2013


Joins the Communist Party of Spain. Begins to write monthly columns for two maggazines: Cult24 and Olé. Hides 1000€ in 5€ bank notes in a public library in Helsinki as an unauthorized intervention. Curates with Jani Leinonen Homelessness Fair at Hyvinkää Art Museum. Does a two-month residency at Xanadu in Beirut. Tries to travel again to Damascus but it’s impossible for the war. Paints 57 Varieties red monochrome series which is exhibited in the Carnegie Art Award in Stockholm. Pulls out a work from an exhibition in France when its government threatens to bomb Syria.

Solo Shows


Untitled
Zena el Khalil Residence
Beirut
Respetando los derechos humanos nunca saldremos de la crisis
Espacio AVAart
Gijón, Spain
Cake Theory
Galerija Alkatraz
Ljubljana
Collaboration with Katja Tukiainen. Curated by Jernej Skof
Riiko Sakkinen's Favorite Books
Rikhardinkatu Public Library
Helsinki
Unauthorized intervention

Group Shows


Sight 2013/14
Museolaboratorio
Città Sant'Angelo, Italy
Curated by Enzo De Leonibus
Schenken als Problem
Group Global 3000
Berlin
Carnegie Art Award
Royal Academy of Fine Arts
Stockholm
The Name, The Nose
Museolaboratorio
Città Sant'Angelo, Italy
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
Persten Collection Pop-up
Telakkakatu 6
Helsinki
Celebrating Tom
Made in Kallio
Helsinki
Tekijän oikeudella
Telakkakatu 6
Helsinki
Curated by Antti Kirjalainen
Fast and Furious
Aine Art Museum
Tornio, Finland
Dreaming of the South
Galerie Marion de Cannière
Antwerp
Curated by Herman van Ingelgem

2012


Travels to Damascus to exhibit in spite of or because of the civil war. Does active propaganda for the secular and multicultural Syria, both in the country during the visit and later abroad. Exhibits Syrian works in Helsinki.

Solo Shows


Syria Study Center
Korjaamo Galleria
Helsinki
Turbokapitalismin kehitysselvitys
Galleria Koivulinna
Pukkila, Finland
East West Banana Split
All Art Now
Damascus
Collaboration with Nisrine Boukhari

Group Shows


Melancholia
Pristine Galerie
Monterrey, Mexico
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
Under the Volcano
Adrómeda Contemporáneo
San José, Costa Rica
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
Hydromemories
Turin Museum of Natural History
Turin
Curated by Irina Novarese and A. Titolo
Be:e
La Porte Peinte Centre pour les Arts
Nouyers sur Serein, France
Curated by Michelle Anderson Binczak and Rod Deweese
Celebrity Skin
White Box Contemporary
San Diego, California
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
In the Future the Artist Will Say: That Object is a Work of Art
3rd Ward
New York
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
Group Show
Musterzimmer
Berlin
Personal City
Muu Galleria. Part of the Helsinki Photography Biennial
Helsinki

2011


Exhibits in Monterrey, Mexico, the focal point of the drug violence. Spends one month in Syria during the uprising. Exhibits Syrian works in Madrid. All his over 50 hotel drawings are acquired by the Rich Collection. Starts to collaborate with the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat in their panel of intellectuals writing opinions once a week.

Solo Shows


Syria for Dummies
Espacio Trapézio
Madrid
Operation Golden Monkey
Korjaamo Galleria
Helsinki
Collaboration with Judas Arrieta, featuring Cao Huan Yi
China for Dummies
Culture Tram
Helsinki
Collaboration with Judas Arrieta
My Favorite Escort Girls from the People's Republic of China
Tuntemattomien Kontti
Helsinki
No preguntes qué puede hacer el capitalismo por tí, sino qué puedes hacer tu por el capitalismo
Pristine Galerie
Monterrey, Mexico
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
Exigimos Libertad de Expresión Pero No Tenemos Nada Que Decir
Blo Laboratorio Digital
Talavera de la Reina, Spain
My Favorite Escort Girls and Banks in the People's Republic of China
Galerie e.l Bannwarth
Paris

Group Shows


Berlin Klondyke 2011
Klondike Institute of Art and Culture
Dawson City,
Canada
Curated by Irmelin Nohal and Reinald Nohal
Cosmopolis
Pristine Galerie
Monterrey, Mexico
Curated by Daniel Gonzalez Lozano and Raul Zamudio
Dreaming Hazel Dooney
Latrobe Contemporary Gallery
Morwell, Australia
The SuR/Real Estate Show
Carriage House
New York
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
Sijamuotoja
Purnu
Orivesi, Finland
Curated by Timo Valjakka
The Civility Show
Amelie A. Wallace Gallery
Old Westbury, New York
Curated by Dahn Hiuni
Finland Station
Loft Project Etagi
St. Petersburg
Section curated by Aleksi Nyman

2010


Writes the Manifesto of Turborealism. His entire show of list drawings is acquired by the Helsinki Art Museum. Receives a monthly grant of the Art Council of Finland for two years. His drawing Secrets of Sexy Cooking is exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Riiko Sakkinen Image Club, the first hardcover monograph, is published. His son is born.

Solo Shows


Riiko Sakkinen's Encyclopedia (Revised and Updated Edition)
Kunsthalle Helsinki
Curated by Suvi Saloniemi
Escribid a Papá Noel y Pedid Libertad
Galería Gacma
Málaga, Spain
Sweetshop Sweatshop
The Finnish Norwegian Cultural Institute
Oslo
My Favorite Lists
Korjaamo Galleria
Helsinki

Group Shows


Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen
Museum of Modern Art
New York
Curated by Juliet Kinchin and Aidan O’Connor
New Impressions
Bourouina Gallery
Berlin
I'm Hungry for Art
Äkkigalleria
Jyväskylä, Finland
Persten Collection Mix - Candy Cane Meets 61 Hearts
Persten Pop-up Gallery
Helsinki
Curated by Eeropekka Rislakki
Momentum Design
Momentum Kunsthall
Moss, Norway
Curated by Punkt Ø
Cool Rooms
Punkaharju State Hotel
Punkaharju, Finland
Curated by Jani Leinonen
Cool Water
Korjaamo Galleria
Helsinki
Curated by Timo Valjakka
Ese Oscuro Objeto del Deseo
Pristine Galerie
Monterrey, Mexico
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
Twilight of the Idols
Galería Casado Santapau
Madrid
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
The Metamorphosis
Other Gallery
Shanghai
Curated by Raúl Zamudio

2009


Stays two months in Helsinki preparing with Jani Leinonen works for their major museum show Jani and Riiko’s Free World at Amos Anderson Art Museum. Makes also an installation at Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art. Becomes an art celebrity in Finland and appears in numerous magazines and TV talk shows. Speaks in the interviews about communism where everybody drives a BMW as his utopia. Starts to work with Korjaamo Galleria. Curates the exhibition Trickle-down Theory with the works of almost one hundred artists around the world. Exhibits and sells an installation at Art Basel art fair where he has dinner with the model Naomi Campbell. Spends the summer in Beijing, where he executes a series of collaborative paintings with Judas Arrieta. Participates in the 798 Beijing Biennale. Travels to the Maldives for an unsuccessful project that is never completed.

Solo Shows


Free World
Bourouina Gallery
Berlin
Collaboration with Jani Leinonen
Asia Belongs to Us
MA Studio
Beijing
Judas Arrieta Vs. Riiko Sakkinen, Feat. Cao Huan Yi
Jani and Riiko's Free World
Amos Anderson Art Museum
Helsinki
Collaboration with Jani Leinonen
Jani and Riiko's Presidential Suite
Hotel Klaus K
Helsinki
Collaboration with Jani Leinonen
Kosmostars
Korjaamo Galleria
Helsinki

Group Shows


Text Festival
Manchester
Curated by Tony Trehy
Memories of China
798 Space
Beijing
Curated by Vivian Cao and Coral Lu
Imaging China
Lan Club
Beijing
Curated by Judas Arrieta
The Man Who Fell to Earth
T-Space. Beijing 798 Biennale
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
Un NO por respuesta
Musac - Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León
León, Spain
Curated by Tania Pardo
Tracking Traces
Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art
Helsinki
Curated by Eija Aarnio, Leevi Haapala and Pirkko Siitari
The Borders
Amelie A. Wallace Gallery
Old Westbury, New York
Curated by Hyewon Yi
Espejo canalla
Galería Artificial
Madrid
Curated by Rafael De Diego, Raquel Francisco Baeza and Iban Gaztanbide

2008


Exhibits at the Finnish Cultural Institute in Sweden and demands in the interviews an official apology of the Swedish government for colonializing Finland in the past. Teaches in several universities in Finland his Survival Kit for Young Artists. Does his first solo shows in Paris and Berlin. Travels to South Korea to execute the installation We Love Samsung and Kim-Il Sung at the Yeosu International Art Festival. The work causes a huge media impact, an investigation by the police and demonstrations demanding censorship, what finally is done. Travels for an exhibition to Chicago when Barack Obama is elected the 44th President of the United States.

Solo Shows


Consommateur, applaudis, le spectacle est partout
Bourouina Gallery
Berlin
Human Rights Damage Our Economy
Galerie e.l Bannwarth
Paris
Jag skulle inte vilja hata Sverige men jag vågar inte hata Ryssland
Finlandsinstitutet
Stockholm

Group Shows


Showcase
Yokohama,
Japan
Showroom
La Fresh Gallery
Madrid
Uno Más Uno Es Multitud
Doméstico '08
Madrid
Curated by Tania Pardo
Smart
Korjaamo Galleria
Helsinki
Curated by Aura Seikkula
From the Arctic to the Prairie
Golden
Chicago
Curated by Lisa Baldini
Made in Kuvataideakatemia
Finnish Academy of Fine Arts
Helsinki
Curated by Riikka Stewen
Garden of Delights - Yeosu International Art Festival
Jinnan Culture and Arts Centre
Yeosu, South Korea
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
Sampo
4mula Gallery
Saint Petersburg
Curated by Eeropekka Rislakki
Kesänäyttely
Honkahovi
Mänttä, Finland
Curated by Sampo Linkoneva
Group Show
Galerie e.l Bannwarth at Galerie JBB
Mulhouse, France
Headhunters
Showroom X
Helsinki
Curated by Jani Leinonen
Helsinki à Saint-Sulpice
Paris
Curated by Krista Mikkola
Spectacular Redux
EDS Galería
Mexico City
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
Dark
Korjaamo
Helsinki
Curated by Timo Valjakka
Todella Siistiä
Rauma Art Museum
Rauma, Finland
Curated by Henna Paunu

2007


Stays two months in Tokyo as artist-in-residence, His work Human Rights Damage our Economy is censored in a group show in Beijing. Several drawings are acquired by Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art.

Solo Shows


Todo en el Sur Es Tercer Mundo
Instituto Iberoamericano de Finlandia
Madrid
Let's Happy Life - Sparkling Girl Brings about a Revolution
Korjaamo
Helsinki
Curated by Timo Valjakka
Refreshing Molotov Cocktails
Bar No.9
Helsinki
Curated by Jani Leinonen

Group Shows


Piirustusluokka - tyhjä on täysi
Kunsthalle Helsinki
Curated by Markus Konttinen and Riikka Stewen
Unfair '07 - A Real Alternative
Arthaus Miami
Curated by Raúl Zamudio
Taidetuunaamo
Helsinki
Collaboration with Jani Leinonen
Conversations
Kerava Art Museum
Kerava, Finland
Curated by Cécile Marie
Dream Palace
A-Space, No. 1 Artspace
Beijing
Curated by Alfredo Martinez, Li Fexue and Marc Hungerbuhler
The 25 Best Artists in Finland
Mänttä Art Festival
Mänttä, Finland
Curated by Jani Leinonen
Zoo
Galerie Anhava
Helsinki
Surge
798 Art Festival
Beijing
Curated by Marc Hungerbuhler and Raul Zamudio
Muestra de Arte
Provincial Historic Archive
Cáceres, Spain
Curated by Orlando Fernández
Amerikkka
The Artist Network
New York
Curated by Raul Zamudio
Power One
Ad Hoc Art
New York
Collaboration with Black Centipede. Curated by Lisa Baldini

2006


Travels to Hong Kong and Shenzhen, where he stays in a guest house of a huge clothing factory, and is impressed by the Chinese culture and economy. Participates in the exhibition of the Spanish young artists organized by the government. The first Riiko Sakkinen website is launched.

Solo Shows


More Mustard Gas and Tomato Ketchup (My Very Best Friendly Fire)
Transit
Mechelen, Belgium

Group Shows


Body Double
FORUM + Elzbieta Koscielak Gallery
Wrocław, Poland
Curated by Raul Zamudio
Muestra de Arte
Circulo de Bellas Artes
Madrid
Curated by Orlando Fernández
Art Supermarket Pikasso
Helsinki
Curated by Jani Leinonen
Serendipity
1A Space
Hong Kong
Curated by Leevi Haapala
Steiler Konter – Die Ausstellung
Magazin4, Bregenzer Kunstverein
Bregenz, Austria
Curated by Peter Lang
In the Face of Mechanical Reproduction. A Nod to Walter Benjamin. Brooklyn Underground Film Festival
Brooklyn Lyceum
New York
Curated by Lisa Baldini

2005


Gets married and his daughter is born. Settles in Cervera de los Montes, a small village where he reforms an old house. Helps his father-in-law who is cowboy. Works also as a clown, English teacher for bus drivers, guide in a vineyard, all-terrain vehicle instructor and extra in films and TV ads. Does his first solo show in Madrid. Makes the first list drawings. Shows works at Art Brussels, his first art fair.

Solo Shows


Small Boys Units South Beach Diet
Galleria Krista Mikkola
Helsinki
Colon(ialismo) Madrid Remix
Los 29 Enchufes en Espacio F
Madrid

Group Shows


Gemine:Muse
Galerija Ivana Mestrovica
Split, Croatia
Project curated by Timo Valjakka
Bermuda Triangle
Ambrosino Gallery
Miami
Curated by Raul Zamudio
Kiss Me Long and Hard
Priska C. Juschka Fine Art
New York
Helsinki International
Tram Museum
Helsinki
Curated by Timo Valjakka and Anna-Kaari Hakkarainen
Retratos de Dorian Gray
Galeria de Arte Mexicano
Mexico City
Curated by Raul Zamudio
Sharp Shooting
St Paul St
Auckland, New Zealand
Curated by Heather Galbraith
Under Your Skin
White Box
New York
Curated by Raul Zamudio
Muu18v
Kunsthalle Helsinki
Finland
Collaboration with Erkka Nissinen. Curated by Riikka Ala-Harja, Maria Duncker, Minna Heikinaho and Kari Yli-Annala
Vasta maalattu - Peinture fraîche
Kerava Art Museum
Kerava, Finland
Curated by Cécile Marie and Pirkko Siitari

2004


Lives in Talavera de la Reina, Spain. Travels for the first time to America for his New York solo show Everything I Don’t Understand Must Be Sin which is mentioned in The New York Times. The show features his first figurative mural. In the end of the year spends  few weeks in Texas with Jani Leinonen where they make two shows. Begins to work with the independent curator Raúl Zamudio who includes him in numerous exhibition during the next years. Writes columns for Ylioppilaslehti, a prestigious publication of the Student Union of the University of Helsinki. Decorates with his art a reception given by the president of Finland Tarja Halonen for the king of Belgium Albert II in Brussels.

Solo Shows


Boz Ulu Delgin
Testsite
Austin, Texas
Collaboration with Neil Fauerso and Jani Leinonen
Earn Money Without a Job
The Bower
San Antonio, Texas
Collaboration with Jani Leinonen
Everything I Don't Understand Must Be Sin
Priska C. Juschka Fine Art
New York

Group Shows


Democracy Was Fun
White Box
New York
Curated by Juan Puntes and Raul Zamudio
Anthro/Socio
The Artist Network
New York
Curated by Raul Zamudio
Ideas of Artists on eBay
Galerie Luecke und Partner
Berlin
Internet event. Curated by Peter Lang and Markus Wirthmann
Phantom Limb
Unit B (Gallery)
Chicago
Curated by Raul Zamudio
Superego
Galleria Huuto
Helsinki
Curated by Jaakko Rustanius
The World of Objects
Kunsthalle Helsinki and Tampere Art Museum
Finland
Curated by Riikka Stewen
Guasipichai
Los 29 Enchufes en Fernando Sexto 20
Madrid
On Site
Priska C. Juschka Fine Art
New York
Group show
Galleria Krista Mikkola
Helsinki
Interim
Transit
Mechelen, Belgium
Peinture Fraîche - Vasta Maalattu
Le Triage
Nanterre, France
Curated by Cécile Marie
Derby Racing Malinwa
Cultuurcentrum Mechelen
Mechelen, Belgium
Casas y calles
Santa Isabel 20
Madrid
Project curated by Ignacio Cabredo

2003


Travels around the Balkans with Katja Tukiainen and Niko Luoma for a project that consist of glueing racist posters – with texts from old encyclopedias – illegally on walls. Sells 19 drawings to a foundation which later donates them to MoMA’s. Paints during the summer in Brussels and Antwerp and later shows the works in Helsinki receiving lots of media attention and negative critiques. In the end of the year, moves permanently to Spain. Participates as an expert in Sarajevo in an intercultural dialog and conflict prevention conference organized by the Council of Europe.

Solo Shows


Western World in Colors (Teen sen rahasta)
Galleria Krista Mikkola
Helsinki
Keep on the Asphalt
Exhibition at Cable Factory. Helsinki. Action in Sarajevo, Athens, Tirana and Helsinki
Collaboration with Niko Luoma and Katja Tukiainen. Curated by Krista Mikkola
Riiko Sakkinen's Express Kebab Pizza
Transit
Mechelen, Belgium
Featuring Inmaculada Díaz and Görsky Grytvic

Group Shows


Cocktail
Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts
Helsinki
Curated by Jani Leinonen
Greetings!
Galleria Huuto
Helsinki
Map in Graz. The European Forum for Emerging Creation
Forum Stadtpark
Graz, Austria
Biennale of Young Artists of Europe and Mediterranean
Athens
Collaboration with Niko Luoma and Katja Tukiainen. Project curated by Krista Mikkola

2002


Moves again to Cuenca but stays two months in the winter in a residency hosted by the Nordic Watercolor Museum in Skärhamn, Sweden. Begins to write articles for Taide, a prestigious Finnish art magazine. Graduates from the Academy of Fine Arts. One of the pieces of his degree show installation is his mother’s cocker spaniel. The visitors must pay one euro as entrance fee, including professors and journalists. Directly after the graduation goes to a residency in London hosted by Camden Arts Centre and Delfina Studios. Feels that it’s easy to be a successful artist. Camden Arts Centre organizes his performance series and edits his first monographic book. Exhibits together with Jani Leinonen at Helsinki Art Museum, which acquires his works, and participates in the Fourth Triennial of Finnish Photography at Amos Anderson Art Museum. Visits Alhambra in Granada. Travels to Melbourne to meet his Australian family.

Solo Shows


T-shirt Stall
Camden Arts Centre
London
Action. Curated by Heather Galbraith
Jani Leinonen Vs. Riiko Sakkinen
Kluuvin Galleria, Helsinki Art Museum
Helsinki
Collaboration with Jani Leinonen

Group Shows


Anti Festival
Kuopio, Finland
Curated by Erkki Soininen
Off Skene. Fourth Triennial of Finnish Photography
Amos Anderson Art Museum
Helsinki
Collaboration with Inmaculada Díaz. Curated by Jari Björklöv and Harri Kalha
Master of Fine Arts Degree Show
Academy of Fine Arts
Helsinki
Collaboration with Görsky Grytvic. Featuring Kassu

2001


Lives in Madrid and works first as an assistant at Galería Buades and later in an exhibition installation company traveling around Spain. Curates the exhibition First in, First out, First in, First Serve in Cuenca, where he also participates as extra dancer in the famous choreographer La Ribot’s piece. Travels by car from Madrid to Venice to the opening of the Biennale. Doesn’t have an invitation and jumps over the wall of Giardini prepared with a pizza base and cream to pie Harald Szeemann, the curator of the Biennale, but can’t find him. Finally decides to move back to Helsinki to finish his Master of Fine Arts degree. During the exhibition Ars 01 at Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art works as interpreter of Santiago Sierra. The newspaper Helsingin Sanomat writes a mocking three-page article of him as a revenge of the Tal R incident previous year.

Group Shows


Kommen Sie Nach Hause
Gereonswall 27
Cologne
Curated by Steff Adams
Top 7
South Carelia Art Museum
Lappeenranta, Finland
Collaboration with Jari Björklöv
Ven a Casa
Velázquez 26
Madrid
Curated by Inmaculada Díaz
Dibujos y Objetos. Situaciones
UIMP
Cuenca, Spain
Curated by Ricardo Cadenas and Gonzalo Puch

2000


Stays two months in Berlin. Is heavily impacted at Kunst-Werke by Santiago Sierra’s exhibition with asylum seekers in cardboard boxes and Jonathan Meese’s installation with Nazi paraphernalia. In Helsinki, attends a workshop by the Danish artist Tal R, and impersonates him in an interview for Helsingin Sanomat, the biggest newspaper in Finland. The article is published with a large foto of him and the newspaper blacklists him for few years. Organizes an exhibition at the gallery of the Academy including works of fellow artists, imaginary friends and his grandmother. During the next years works also under the pseudonym Görsky Grytvic. Participates in Kassel in a workshop conducted by Okwui Enwezor, the director of Documenta 11.

Solo Shows


Paha maito
Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts
Helsinki
Guest stars: Simo Brotherus, Inmaculada Díaz, Görsky Grytvic, Joonas Kota, Ritva Narinen, Cecilia Stenbom, Erkki Veltheim and Gudrun F. Widlok

Group Shows


The Museum
Academy of Fine Arts
Helsinki
Curated by Tal R
Ylikierroksilla
Helsinki
Live art series. Curated by Niina Braun and Tellervo Kalleinen

1999


Studies at the painting department of the Academy of Fine Arts with Henry Wuorila-Stenberg as his professor. Runs with his fellow students an illegal bar in the basement of the Academy. Is more focused on the question how to be an artist and what is the role of artist in the society than in making any artifacts.

Solo Shows


Sillas y Otros Paisajes
Academy of Fine Arts
Helsinki
Trípticos Instalaciones Inmobiliarias
Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Castilla-La Mancha. Cuenca, Spain
Curated by Inmaculada Díaz

Group Shows


Bellas Intenciones. Situaciones
Fundación Antonio Pérez
Cuenca, Spain
Curated by Oscar Martínez and Eva Rueda
Lattiasta kattoon
Galleria Jangva
Helsinki
By Side Sidewalk
Kunsthalle Vaasa
Vaasa, Finland
Curated by Ulrika Ferm
Un Sitio para K.K.0.
Faculty of Fine Arts. University of Castilla-La Mancha
Cuenca, Spain
Curated by Javier Alvarez
Boxing
Vantaa Art Museum
Vantaa, Finland
Curated by Päivi Björkenheim

1998


Begins to work as a guide in the newly established Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, where he is impressed by Bjarne Melgaard’s exhibition Everything American Is Evil – The Return to Constantinople. Meets his Spanish future wife in Stockholm when they are visiting the Moderna Museet. Takes a trip to Saint Petersburg and Karelia, from where his family fled during the World War II. Travels to Northern Ireland for a group show with his fellow students. Stays in Cuenca, Spain, the winter as an exchange student. The following years spends more time in Spain than Finland, though he continues studying in Finland. Does the first A4 size drawings.

Group Shows


Amorph!98
Helsinki
Live art festival. Curated by Tero Nauha
Young Artists from NY
Down Arts Centre
Downpatrick, United Kingdom
Curated by Una Walker
Performance Series
Ars Nova Museum
Turku, Finland
Syner Sights Näkyjä
Knipnäs Mental Hospital
Tammisaari, Finland
Performance program. Curated by Ulrika Ferm
Pöytä Juhlalle
Academy of Fine Arts
Helsinki
Ilmassa
Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts
Helsinki
Curated by Lauri Anttila and Markus Konttinen
Faust
Academy of Fine Arts
Helsinki
Curated by Altti Kuusamo and Erkki Soininen

1997


Applies for the third time to the Academy of Fine Arts and is finally accepted. Suffers from the classical training and organizes a student rebellion against the professors. As a result he is liberated from the model drawing. His future best friend and collaborator Jani Leinonen is in the same class.

Group Shows


Harmaasta
Academy of Fine Arts
Helsinki

1996


Shows his art for the first time – the solo exhibition Kotitalouspornoa (Domestic Porn) consists of painted domestic appliances and receives positive critiques and a wide media coverage. Applies for the second time to the Academy of Fine Arts and is rejected again. Works as a vendor at a convenience store chain but quits soon after a nervous breakdown. Attends to an obligatory therapy after being expelled for mental problems from the military service the previous year. Participates in the national juried exhibition of young artists with three flower paintings. Becomes a member of the artists’ association Muu and is elected to its board. Writes poetry. Travels to London and sees Jake & Dinos Chapman’s exhibition Chapmanworld.

Solo Shows


Kotitalouspornoa
Galleria Jangva
Helsinki

Group Shows


Comment. Young Artists' Exhibition
WeeGee
Espoo, Finland

Work in Museum Collections


Aine Art Museum
Tornio, Finland
Amos Rex
Helsinki
Artsi Vantaa Art Museum
Vantaa, Finland
Bury Art Museum & Sculpture Centre
Bury, United Kingdom
EMMA - Espoo Museum of Modern Art. Saastamoinen Foundation
Espoo, Finland
Fundación Canaria para el Desarollo de Pintura
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
HAM Helsinki Art Museum
Helsinki
Hotel and Restaurant Museum
Helsinki
Hyvinkää Art Museum
Hyvinkää, Finland
Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art
Helsinki
Kunstpalast
Düsseldorf,
Germany
Mataró Contemporary Art Museum. Fundacíó Carmen i Lluis Bassat
Mataró, Spain
Museolaboratorio
Città Sant'Angelo, Italy
Museum of Modern Art
New York
Punkmuseo
Helsinki
Rauma Art Museum
Rauma, Finland
Rovaniemi Art Museum. Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation
Rovaniemi,
Finland
Serlachius
Mänttä, Finland
SONS Museum
Kruishoutem, Belgium
Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art
Turku, Finland

Monographic Publications


Los moimoi de Fuengirola
2024
Parvs / Serlachius
Helsinki / Mänttä,
Finland
Riiko Sakkinen. Göstan pieni taidekirjasto 8
2022
Parvs / Serlachius
Helsinki / Mänttä,
Finland
The Best of All Possible Worlds
2018
Formerlynotknown-press
Klaus,
Austria
Closing Borders
2017
Parvs / Serlachius
Mänttä,
Finland
MuNA Museum of No Art
2014
Serlachius
Mänttä,
Finland
Riiko Sakkinen Image Club
2010
Sepha / Gacma
Málaga,
Spain
Jani Leinonen & Riiko Sakkinen
2009
Bourouina Gallery
Berlin
Mundus Liber
2009
Collaboration with Jani Leinonen
Amos Anderson Art Museum
Helsinki
Boz Ulu
2006
Collaboration with Jani Leinonen
Fluent~Collaborative
Austin, Texas
Riiko Sakkinen's Express Kebab Pizza
2003
Transit
Mechelen,
Belgium
Keep on the Asphalt
2003
Collaboration with Niko Luoma and Katja Tukiainen
Helsinki City Cultural Office
Helsinki
Vjes London
2002
Camden Arts Centre
London