Kaarina Kaikkonen (Iisalmi, 1952) lives and works in Helsinki. She studied at the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts and received the National Prize for Visual Arts in 1989; the Finland Prize for Art in 2001; while in 2013, the Order of the Lion of Finland awarded her a First-Class Knighthood. Kaikkonen has also been awarded international prizes, such as the Audience Prize at Den Haag Sculptuur in the Netherlands in 2004 and a Mention of Honor at the 11th Cairo Biennale in Egypt in 2009.
Among her most recent solo shows: Kaarina Kaikkonen, KUNSTEN Museum for Modern Art Aalborg, Denmark (2018); Kaarina Kaikkonen, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen, France (2017); Kaarina Kaikkonen, Uppsala Art Museum, Sweden (2017); Kaarina Kaikkonen, Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland (2017); Falling Light, Blooming Spirit, Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland (2016).
Her works may be found in major public and private collections, including: Albright – Knox Art Gallery; State of Finland; Maramotti Collection, Reggio Emilia; MAXXI – National Museum of 21st-Century Art, Rome; Foundation of Jenny and Antti Wihuri; Malmö Art Museum; Helsinki Art Museum; Borås Art Museum; Wyoming University Art Museum; Kuopio Art Museum; City of Iisalmi; Lapinlhati Art Museum; Oulu Art Museum; EMMA Museum for Modern Art; Kiasma Museum for Contemporary Art; Collection Swanljung; Joensuu Art Museum; Mikkeli Art Museum; Aine Art Museum; City of Pieksämäki; Sara Hildén Art Museum, and the Kaisa Blomstedt Collection.