Elina Brotherus

Overview

Born 1972, Finland.
Lives and works in Helsinki, Finland and Avallon, France.

Elina Brotherus is an internationally acclaimed photographer and video artist, whose work alternates between an autobiographical and an art-historical approach. Many of Elina Brotherus’ photos and videos are self-portraits that investigate the relationship between individual and space, both in relation to interiors as well as landscapes.

In the exhibition The Avantgarde doesn’t give up, Brotherus realized and interpreted a range of written instructions from both the avantgarde and the neo-avantgarde movement. These instructions could be actual scripts for performances or Fluxus works as well as phrases from books or titles of art works. Acknowledging the importance of the avantgarde, Brotherus’ takes the it into a new era, and her work therefore stands as a both a continuation as well as a modulation of these past movements.

Elina Brotherus has an MA degree in Photography from the University of Art and Design Helsinki (now Aalto University) and an MSc in Chemistry from the University of Helsinki. She has exhibited all over the world, with notable solo exhibitions at Centre Pompidou, Paris; The National Art Center, Tokyo; Kunst Haus Wien, Vienna; Weserburg Museum für Moderne Kunst, Bremen. Her works are also represented in numerous prominent collections, such as Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk; Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo (MAXXI), Rome; Moderna Museet, Stockholm.

Selected Works

Biography / CV

Born in 1972, Helsinki, Finland.

Lives and works between Paris and Helsinki.

EDUCATION

2000 – Master of Arts (Photography), University of Art and Design Helsinki (UIAH)

1997 – Master of Science (Analytical Chemistry), University of Helsinki 

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2024

In the Architect’s House – Elina Brotherus on Alvar Aalto, KØS Museum of Art in Public Spaces, Køge, Denmark

Somebody Else, Théâtre La passerelle, Gap, France

2023

Vies silencieuses, in Festival Planches Contact, Deauville, France

Over Seas, The Nordic Art Symphony Project, Kilden Concert Hall and Kunstsilo, Kristiansand

Artist as Clown, camara oscura galleria de arte, Madrid, Spain

Face with Lipstick, Instituto Iberoamericano de Finlandia, Madrid, Spain

Spaces and Places, Helsinki Contemporary, Helsinki, Finland

Large de Vue, Arter, Istanbul, Turkey

VISITOR, Didrichsen Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland

Elina Brotherus, Joseph Beuys and René Block: Potato Planting – Transformations, Museum Schloss Moyland, Germany

Space, Time, Movement, Aalto Museum, Jyväskylä Art Museum and Gallery Ratamo, Jyväskylä, Finland

2022

Elina Brotherus – In Reference To A Sunny Place, Fotografie Forum Frankfurt, Germany

Dialogue, Elina Brotherus and Hannele Rantala, Finnish National Gallery Ateneum, Helsinki

Living Spaces, Paimio Sanatorium, Paimio, Finland

Les règles du jeu, FRAC Bourgogne, Dijon, France

Les règles du jeu, Elina Brotherus et Sara Imloul, Manuel Riviera Ortiz Foundation, Rencontres de la photographie, Arles, France

2021

Elina Brotherus, Ambassade de France en Cambodge, Photo Phnom Penh 2021, Phnom Penh, Vietnam

Sebaldiana, Memento mori, Espace Diamant, Ajaccio, Corsica

Sebaldiana, Memento mori, Musée de la Roche-sur-Yon hors les meurs, France

Baldessari in the Park, Château de Bois-Héroult, France, in Voisins de campagne #2

2020

The Avantgarde doesn’t give up, Martin Asbæk Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

Bad Camouflage, GB Agency, Paris, France

Why not?, Weserburg Museum für Moderne Kunst, Bremen, Germany

2019

Playful Wanderer, Sorø Kunstmuseum, Sorø, Denmark

2018

Playground, Serlachius Museum, Mänttä, Finland

Leikreglur / Rules of the game, National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland

It’s not me, it’s a photograph, Kunst Haus Wien, Museum Hundertwasser, Vienna, Austria

Mac Adams – Elina Brotherus, gb agency, Paris, France

Règle du jeu, Galleria Heino, Helsinki, Finland

2017

Girl under the Chestnut Tree. A Retrospective, Museum of New Art, Pärnu, Estonia.

Carpe Fucking Diem, Contretype, Centre pour la photographie contemporaine, Brussels, Belgium

Règle du jeu: Carte Blanche PMU, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France

The Baldessari Assignments, Norrtälje Konsthall, Norrtälje, Sweden

Time Pieces, Mindepartementet Art and Photography, Stockholm, Sweden

Elina Brotherus, Vida Museum & Konsthall, Öland, Sweden

Elina Brotherus, Works 1998-2015, Turku Art Museum, Turku, Finland

2016

Role of the Model, Fotohof, Salzburg, Austria

Large de vue. Hommage à Erik Satie, gb agency, Paris, France

Elina Brotherus and SMITH, Landskrona Konsthall, Landskrona, Sweden.

The Light from the North, Le Pavillon populaire, Montpellier, France.

Howl with Victoria Schultz, Galleria Heino, Helsinki, Finland

2015

Carpe Fucking Diem, gb agency, Paris, France

Les Femmes de la Maison Carré, Maison Louis Carré, Bazoches-sur-Guyonne, France; Gallery Heino, Helsinki, Finland

Annonciation, Martin Asbaek Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

2014

12 ans après, The Wapping Project Bankside, Mayfair, London, United Kingdom; Ama Gallery, Helsinki, Finland; Galeria camara oscura, Madrid, Spain

2013

12 ans après, Optica center for contemporary art, in Mois de la Photo, Montréal, Canada; Royal University of Fine Arts, PhotoPhnomPenh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Annonciation, gb agency, Paris, France

2012

12 ans après, in Lianzhou Photography Festival, Lianzhou, China

Artists at Work, Gallery Taik, Berlin, Germany

Elina Brotherus, Martin Asbæk Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

Home and away, with Lauri Astala, Galleria Heino, Helsinki, Finland

Sequences and Consequences, Ama Gallery, Helsinki, Finland

2011

The new painting / The artist and her model, Festival Pluie d’images, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, Le Relecq Kerhuon, France

Le Radar, espace d’art actuel, Bayeux, France

Sequences and Consequences, Ama Gallery, Helsinki, Finland

2010

Fondazione Studio Marangoni, Florence, Italy

Elina Brotherus, Artothèque, Angers, France

Video Works, The Wapping Project – Bankside, London, United Kingdom

Sequences and Consequences, Bloomberg SPACE, in the ‘Comma’ series, London, United Kingdom

Time Series, Titanik Gallery, Turku, Finland

Artists at Work, gb agency, Paris, France

Elina Brotherus, Retrospective, gb agency, Paris, France

2009

Model Studies, Wapping Project Bankside, London, United Kingdom

Artist and her Model, Martin Asbaek Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

Elina Brotherus, curated by René Block, Møn, Denmark

Correspondances, with Rantala, Photography Gallery Hippolyte, Helsinki, Finland

The New Painting, PF Photography Gallery, Poznan, Poland

2008

Elina Brotherus, YKY Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey

My Happiness is Round, The Wapping Project, London, United Kingdom

Etudes d’après Modèles, Danseurs, AMA Gallery, Helsinki, Finland

Malga Valarica, curator Giovanna Cavenzi, Commune di Spera, Spain

Roma Festival Photo, V.M.21 Artecontemporanea, Rome, Italy

Elina Brotherus in Artist Files 2008, The National Art Center, Tokyo, Japan

2007

Elina Brotherus, gb agency, Paris, France

The New Painting, Bleu du Ciel, Lyon, France

The New Painting, Oldenburg Kunstverein, Oldenburg, Germany

The New Painting, Centre pour l’Image Contemporaine Saint-Gervais, Genève, Switzerland

2006

The New Painting, Musée Nicéphore Niépce, Chalon-sur-Saône, France

Galerie Wilma Tolksdorf, Berlin, Germany

Model Studies, Festival Les Boréales, Musée des Beaux Arts, Caen, France

The New Painting, Journées photographiques de Bienne, Switzerland

The New Painting, Temple Bar Gallery and Studios, Dublin, Ireland

The New Painting, Millesgarden, Stockholm, Sweden

2005

The New Painting, The Finnish Museum of Photography, Helsinki, Finland

Orpheus, Centrale Montemartini, Rome, Italy

Open Space, Galerie Wilma Tolksdorf, Art Cologne, Cologne, Germany

Brotherus, Tyttö, Finnish-Norvegian Cultural Institute, Oslo, Norway

Jérusalem Theatre, Jérusalem, Israel

Galerie Wilma Tolksdorf, Frankfurt, Germany

Centre d’Art Contemporain, Tinglado 2, Tarragone, Spain

Frac Haute-Normandie, Rouen, France

Baigneurs, Lèche-vitrine, Maison de la culture, Amiens, France

Model Studies, gb agency, Paris, France

2004

Galleri Stefan Andersson, Umeå, Sweden

Brotherus, Tyttö, Photography Gallery Hippolyte, Helsinki, Finland

Fotografisk Center, Copenhagen, Denmark

The New Painting, Espace photographique Château d’eau, Toulouse, France

Les Baigneurs, Wapping Project, London, United Kingdom

2003

Elina Brotherus’ video works, Kunsthalle Lophem, Bruges, Belgium

The New Painting, Museum of New Art, Pärnu, Estonia

Blue Horizon, Cassina, Tokyo, Japan

Baigneurs, Istanbul Biennial side event, Istanbul, Turkey

Suites françaises 2, Image/Imatge, Orthez, France

Festival Foto-Encuentros, Murcia, Spain

The New Painting, Liste 03, gb agency, Basel, Switzerland

The New Painting, Espace Photographique Contretype, Brussels, Belgium

2002

The New Painting, Fiac Perspectives, gb agency, Paris, France

International Contemporary Art Center, Bucharest, Romania

Photo-Espana, Jardins Botaniques, Madrid, Spain

Orchard Gallery, Derry, Northern Ireland

Hämmeenlinna Art Museum, Hämmeenlinna, Finland; Västeras Art Museum, Västeras, Sweden; Lund Art Hall, Lund, Sweden

Encontros da Imagem, Braga, Portugal

The New Painting, INOVA, Institute of Visual Art, Milwaukee, United States

2001

Spring, The Wapping Project. London, United Kingdom

Suites françaises 2, gb agency, Paris, France

The New Painting, Galleri Andersson, Umeå, Sweden

2000

Encontros de Fotografia, Coimbra, Portugal

Suites françaises 1, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki; Galleri i8, Reyjavik, Iceland

1999

Northern Photography Centre, Rantagalleria, Oulu, Finland

Finnish Museum of Photography, Helsinki, Finland

Dance Portraits, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki, Finland

1998

Galleri Andersson, Umeå, Sweden; Galerie Anhava, Helsinki, Finland

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024

Masks, Multiple Identities from Antiquity to Contemporary Art, Serlachius Museums, Mänttä

Des exploits, des chefs-d’oevre, Franc Sud, Marseille, France

In the Now, Gender and Nation in Europe, Selections from the Sir Mark Fehrs Haukohl Photography Collection, Brooklyn Museum, United States

Acts of Creation: On Art and Motherhood, Hayward Gallery Touring: Arnolfi, Bristol; Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), Birmingham; Millennium Gallery, Sheffield; Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA), Dundee (until 2025)

Feels Like Home, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland

2023

Real Families: Stories of Change, The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Handle with Care, Ludwig Museum, Budapest, Hungary

Dissonances visuelles – Collection Contretype, Contretype Centre pour la photographie contemporaine, Brussels, Belgium

At an Arm’s Length, 100 years of Nordic Art from the Tangen Collection, Artipelag konstmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden

Mirror of Self, Hangar, Brussels, Belgium

Summer in the City, Martin Asbæk Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

Retrospect, 15 years of photography, Camara oscura galeria del arte, Madrid, Spain

Instituto Iberoamericano de Finlandia, Madrid, Spain

Caspar David Friedrich – Kunst für eine neue Zeit, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Germany

2022

Focus de Proust, Château de Montsoreau Museum of Contemporary Art, France

WE ARE – Feminism belongs to all of us, Städtische Galerie Wolfsburg, Germany

CORSICA, images d’un territoire – collection centre méditerranéen de la photographie, Photaumnales, Beauvais/Clermont, France

Mänttä Art Festival, Mänttä, Finland

HIDDEN, Forms of the senses, Fiskars Village Art & Design Biennale, Fiskars, Finland

Dance! Movement in the Visual Arts 1880-2020, HAM Helsinki Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland

Ce devant quoi, gb agency, Paris, France

Portrait of a Lady, Villa Empain – Boghossian Foundation, Brussels, Belgium

Women and Change, ARKEN Museum of Modern Art, Ishøj, Denmark

Snowflakes and other surprises, Fotografisk Center, Copenhagen ; Landskrona Foto, Landskrona, Sweden ; Nordic Photography Center, Oulu, Finland ; Akureyri Art Museum, Akureyri, Icel-   and

2021

New Beauty – Modernist Highlights from the Nicolai Tangen Collection, Hämeenlinna Art Museum, Hämeenlinna, Finland

Mutter!, Kunsthalle Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany

Mother!, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark

Abc Collection, Sales Collection, Galleria Heino, Helsinki, Finland

Summer In The City, Martin Asbæk Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

2020

CHART de-centered, Martin Asbæk Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

Berührend, Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum, Bremen, Germany

2018

Summer in the City, Martin Asbæk Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

Reflections: From Here to There, Taik Persons Gallery, Berlin, Germany

2017

Sans réserve, MAC/VAL, Vitry-sur-Seine, France

Paysages français, une aventure photographique 1984-2017, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Site François-Mitterrand, Paris, France

Video works in Skulpturlandsbyen Selde, Selde, Denmark

Summer in the City, Martin Asbæk Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

2016

L’oeil de l’expert, La photographie contemporaine, Musée Nicéphore Niépce, Chalon-sur-Saône, France
above the ARTic circle, Kaviarfabriken, Henningsvaer, Lofoten, Norway

Portrait de l’artiste en Alter, FRAC Haute-Normandie, Sotteville-lès-Rouen, France

Sobreexposición, MAC Museo de arte contemporáneo, Santiago, Chile; EAC, Montevideo, Uruguay

Bruxelles à l’infini, Photographies de la Collection Contretype, Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

Le temps de l’audace et de l’engagement – de leur temps. Collections privées françaises, Institut d’art contemporain, Villeurbaine / Rhône-Alpes, France

2015

Camera of Wonders, Centro de la Imagen, Mexico City, Mexico ; MAMM Medellín Museum of Modern Art, Medellin, Colombia

Yo, me, mi, contigo, Visiona festival, Huesca, Spain

Henri Cartier-Bresson e gli altri – i grandi fotografi e l’Italia, Palazzo della Ragione, Milan, Italy

Gesture towards the self, Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, Tenerife, Spain

Waterscapes, Stadtgalerie Kiel, Kiel, Germany

Ich kenne kein Weekend. Archive and Collection René Block, Neue Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin, Germany ;Lentos Kunstmuseum, Linz, Austria

Remember Lidice, Edition Block, Berlin, Germany ; Kunsthalle Mannheim, Mannhaim, Germany ; Lidice Museum, Lidice, Czech Republic

A Room of One’s Own, Yancey Richardson, New York City, United States

Touching from a Distance, Serlachius Museum, Mänttä, Finland

Selfie, Brandts Museum of art and visual culture, Odense, Denmark

Voyage to the Virtual, Scandinavia House, New York City, United States

2014

Potretti, Fotografie Forum Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany

France(s), territoire liquide, TriPostal, Lille, France

2013

Home Truths, The Photographers’ Gallery, London, United Kingdom; Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, United States; Belfast Exposed (until 2014), Belfast, Northern Ireland

Kiasma Hits, Kiasma Museum of Contemporry Art, Helsinki, Finland

L’altro ritratto, MART, Rovereto, Italy

Biennial Fotografica Bogotá, MAMBO Museo de Arte Moderna de Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia

The World of Art and Work, Städtische Galerie Waldkreiburg, Waldkreiburg, Germany

Ladies & Gentlemen, Kameran som spegel, Moderna Museet Malmö, Malmö, Sweden

VIDEO, Martin Asbæk Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

2012

Selfportrait, Louisiana – Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark

Out of Focus, Saatchi Gallery, London, United Kingdom

Only You Only Me, Images of Love, Love of the Image, Biennial of Photography and Visual Arts, Musée d’art moderne et d’art contemporain MAMAC, Liège, Belgium

Momentum, The Nordic Biennial, Moss, Norway

Screaming from the Montain: Landscapes and View Points, Sörlandets Kunstmuseum, Kristiansand, Norway

Pieniä tarinoita suurmiehestä, Kotkaniemi, P.E. Svinhufvudin kotimuseo, together with Leena Svinhufvud, Luumäki, Finland

Summer in the City, Martin Asbæk Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

The Nordic – Authentic Architecture, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark.

Sense of Place, European landscape photography, Bozar Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium

Alice in Wonderland, programme for the European Capital of Culture, Turku, Finland

2011

Alice in Wonderland, Lokomo, Turku, Finland

Summer in the city, Martin Asbæk Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

2010

Summer in the City, Martin Asbæk Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

Prix Nièpce, Rétrospective, Chambre avec vues, Paris, France

Cinéphémère, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris, France

Nordic Models + Common Ground, The Scandinavia House, New York, United States

Felicità, Centre PasquArt, Bienne, Switzerland

Public Screen’s, i/o/lab senter for framtidskunst, Stavanger, Norway

Dans, Västerås Art Museum, Västerås, Sweden

Export – Import, Helsinki Kunsthalle, Helsinki, Finland

Cool Water, Korjaamo Gallery, Helsinki, Finland

Vom Dunkeln Gescluckt, Ars Auttoinen, Auttoinen, Finland

Billnäs Bruk, Raseborg, Finland

Spazio, MAXXI Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, Rome, Italy

Starter, ARTER, Istanbul, Turkey

Helsinki10, Rogaland Art Museum, Stavanger, Finland

2009

Identités, Ecole Supérieure dArt, Le Havre, France

Rencontres littéraires nordiques, Lieu Unique, Nantes, France

Wonderful, terrible Life, Etelä-Karjalan Taidemuseo, Lappenranta, Finland

Myth of Childhood, CCA Andratx, Mallorca, Spain

Nord, Nord-Ouest, gb agency, Paris, France

Screening, Supernova, Riga, Latvia

Mythos Kindheit, Centre Culturel, Mallorca, Spain

Ecology of Emotions, Mänttä Art Festival, Mänttä, Finland

Works, Deeds, Finnish Museum of Photography, Helsinki, Finland

La Ruche cité des artistes, Palais Lumière, Evian, France

SELECTED GRANTS AND AWARDS

2010 – Finnish Cultural Foundation 2-year Artist’s Grant, Arts Council of Finland Book, publishing grant (for “Artist and her Model”, work in progress), Arts Council of Finland

2009 – Arts Council of Finland

2008 – Finnish State Prize for Photography 2007 Grönqvist Stiftelse, Finland

2006 – Ars Fennica 2006 nomination

2005 – Prix Niépce, Gensd’images, France

2005 – Finnish Cultural Foundation, Finland

2005 – Book publishing grant (for The New Painting), Arts Council of Finland

2004 – 5-year Artist’s Grant, Arts Council of Finland

2003 – Carnegie Award 2004, Young Artist’s Scholarship, Sweden

2003 – The Best Books of the Year, Finnish Committee of Book Art (for Decisive Days), Finland

2002 – Carnegie Art Award 2002, shortlist, Sweden

2002 – Citigroup Private Bank Photography Prize 2002, shortlist

2001 – Prix Mosaïque, Centre National de l’Audiovisuel, Luxembourg

2001 – Fotofinlandia, Finland

2000 – Award 3-year Artist’s Grant, Arts Coucil of Finland

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Amos Andersson Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland

Apotekets Kulturförening, Stockholm, Sweden

ARKEN Museum of Modern Art, Ishøj, Denmark

Art Foundation Mallorca Collection, Andratx, Spain

Artothèque d’Angers, Angers, France

Artothèque de Brest, Brest Centre National des Arts Plastiques (CNAP), France

Carnegie Art Collection, Sweden

Centre national de l’audiovisuel, Luxembourg

City of Lund, Lund, Sweden

City of Nice Colección H+F, Barcelona, Spain

Collection Lambert, Avignon, France

Collection Neuflize, France

Coppel Collection, Mexico

City Corcoran Gallery, Washington, United States

County Councils of Gävleborg, Halland, Jönköping, Skåne, Uppsala and Västerbotten, Sweden

DZ Bank, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Finnish State Art Collection, Finland

Fondation Kadist, Paris FRAC Alsace, Sélestat, France

FRAC Haute-Normandie, Rouen, France

Galeria Civica d’Arte, Modena Galerie municipale de Château d’eau, Toulouse, France

Gothemburg Art Museum, Gothemburg Gävle Konstcentrum, Gävle, Sweden

Hasselblad Center, Gothemburg, Sweden

Helsinki City Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland

Hämeenlinna Art Museum, Hämeenlinna, Finland

L’Imagerie, Lannion, France

Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland

Koç Foundation, Istanbul MAC/VAL, Vitry-sur-Seine, France

Malmö Art Museum, Malmö, Sweden

Mestizo, Murcia, Spain

Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden

Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Strasbourg, France

Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne Musée Nicéphore Niépce, Chalon-sur-Saône, France

Museo da Imagem, Braga, Portugal

Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo (MAXXI), Rome, Italy

Museum Folkwang, Essen Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, United States

NSM Vie, Paris Oulu Art Museum, Oulu, Finland

Saatchi Collection, London, United Kingdom

Saastamoinen Foundation, Finland

Société Générale, Paris, France

SOK Art Collection, Helsinki, Finland

South Carelia Art Museum, Lappeenranta, Finland

StatoilHydro, Stavanger, Norway

Swedish State Art Council, Stockholm, Sweden

Tampere City Art Museum, Tampere, Finland

The Finnish Museum of Photography, Helsinki, Finland

Umeå municipality, Umeå, Sweden

Västerås Art Museum, Västerås, Sweden