Eva Ryynänen
{{Short description|Finnish sculptor (1915-2001)}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2022}}
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| honorific_prefix = Professori
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| image = Eeva Ryynänen.jpg
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| alt = Eeva Ryynänen in 1969
| caption = Eeva Ryynänen in 1969
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| birth_name = Eva Åsenbrygg
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1915|06|15|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Vieremä, Grand Duchy of Finland
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2001|10|18|1915|06|15|df=yes}}
| death_place = Lieksa, Finland
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| alma_mater = Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki
| known_for = Wood sculpture
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Eva Ryynänen ({{nee}} Åsenbrygg; 15 June 1915 – 18 October 2001) was a Finnish sculptor known especially for her work in wood.{{cite news |title=Eva Ryynänen |url=https://www.hs.fi/muistot/art-2000002627904.html |access-date=6 April 2022 |work=Helsingin Sanomat |date=19 October 2001 |language=fi}}{{cite web |title=Ryynänen, Eva |url=https://uppslagsverket.fi/sv/sok/view-170045-RyynaenenEva |website=Uppslagsverket.fi |access-date=6 April 2022 |language=sv}}
Career
Ryynänen studied at the Academy of Fine Arts (now part of the University of the Arts Helsinki) from 1934 to 1939.
Her debut solo exhibition was in 1940. Her breakthrough came in 1974, as a result of an exhibition at the Amos Anderson Art Museum in Helsinki, and a national tour following it.
She created in total {{circa}} 500 works, of which approximately 50 are in collections outside Finland.{{cite web |title=Artist Register - Eva Ryynänen |url=https://kuvataiteilijamatrikkeli.fi/taiteilija/eva-ryynanen |website=Kuvataiteilijamatrikkeli.fi |publisher=Artists' Association of Finland |access-date=6 April 2022 |language=fi}}
She is especially known for her numerous wooden sculptures, reliefs and wood carvings housed in many Finnish churches. She also worked extensively with bronze and marble.
Her perhaps most famous creation is the Paateri church in North Karelia, which she built in 1989-1991 entirely of wood. She sculpted everything, including individually designed pews; the altar is an upturned root cluster of a spruce tree.
Honours and awards
In 1977, Ryynänen was awarded the {{ill|Pro Finlandia|fi}} medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland.{{cite web |title=SUOMEN LEIJONAN PRO FINLANDIA -MITALIN SAAJAT 1945-2021 |url=https://ritarikunnat.fi/ritarikunnat/palkitut/suomen-leijonan-pro-finlandia-mitalin-saajat-aakkosjarjestyksessa/ |website=Ritarikunnat.fi |date=9 October 2020 |publisher=The Orders of the White Rose of Finland and the Lion of Finland |access-date=6 April 2022 |language=fi}}
In 1998, the honorary title of Professori was conferred on Ryynänen by the President of Finland.
She also received the Kalevala 150th anniversary medal in 1985, as well as numerous other awards.
References
{{Portal|Finland|Visual arts}}
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Category:20th-century Finnish sculptors
Category:Finnish women sculptors
Category:Pro Finlandia Medals of the Order of the Lion of Finland