NINA FORSMAN (née Kuoksa, formerly Mattila),
Visual Artist (BFA)
Born 1974 in Borås, Sweden. Lives and works in Espoo, Finland.
“Nina Forsman is a Finnish visual artist based in Espoo, working across painting, photography, video and installation. Her work explores the relationship between people and their surroundings, observation, human experience, and details found in natural and built environments. The everyday and easily overlooked can become a starting point for her work, drawing attention to what becomes visible only when we stop to look.
Forsman’s work has been exhibited extensively in Finland and internationally. In Finland, she has regularly participated in the Finnish Painters’ Union Art Sales Exhibition and exhibitions organised by Espoo Visual Artists and the Espoo Artists’ Guild. Her work has been shown at venues including Imatra Art Museum, Kouvola Art Museum Poikilo, Kotka Photographic Centre and Gumbostrand Konst & Form.
Internationally, Forsman has participated in exhibitions in New York, Atlanta, Barcelona, Zurich, Venice, London and Hong Kong, among others. Her works are held in public, corporate and private collections in Finland, the United States, Italy and Spain, as well as in the collection of the University of West Georgia. Forsman holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Saimaa University of Applied Sciences and has also studied fine arts at the University of West Georgia, the Repin Institute and the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts Summer School.
Her artistic practice has been supported by grants from the City of Espoo, the City of Kotka and the William and Ester Otsakorpi Foundation. She is a member of the Finnish Painters’ Union, Espoo Visual Artists, the Espoo Artists’ Guild and Muu Artists’ Association.”
EDUCATION
2012–2014 Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Saimaa University of Applied Sciences, Finland
2013 Fine Arts Studies, University of West Georgia, USA
2012 Summer School, St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, Kotka, Finland
2010–2012 Fine Arts Programme, Repin Institute, Kotka, Finland
2012 Entrepreneurship Studies in the Arts, Kymenlaakso Summer University, Kotka, Finland
1999–2004 Degree Programme in Software Engineering, Kymenlaakso University of Applied Sciences, Kotka, Finland
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2016 “Valo kuvassa” (Light in the Image), Kotka Photographic Centre, Kotka, Finland (photography, video art, installation)
2014 “Kasvot mielentiloille” (Faces for States of Mind), Gallery Dada, Tampere, Finland (installations, paintings)
2014 “Pop up” exhibition, Gallery Pumppuhuone (Museum of Technology), Helsinki, Finland (paintings)
2013 “White – Valkoinen”, Gallery Kapriisi, Tampere, Finland (paintings)
2012 “Kohinaa” (Noise), Koskisto Art Centre, Kouvola, Finland (installations, paintings)
2012 “Polte”, solo exhibition, Gallery Hanna Kaarina, Helsinki, Finland (paintings, drawings)
2012 “Diversitas”, Galería La Perla, Spain (paintings)
2004 “Stopped Time”, Loviisa Peace Forum, Loviisa, Finland (photography)
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2017–2026 Finnish Painters’ Union Art Sales Exhibition, Cable Factory, Helsinki, Finland
2015–2026 Espoo Visual Artists (90th Anniversary and other members’ exhibitions), Gallery Aarni, Espoo, Finland
2021–2026 Kiltapaviljonki, Espoo Artists’ Guild, Gallery Aarni, Espoo, Finland
2025 “Kaava”, Espoo Artists’ Guild, Imatra Art Museum, Imatra, Finland
2023–2025 Kiltapaviljonki & Pop-up exhibitions, Espoo Artists’ Guild, Espoo and Hamina, Finland
2023 ARTBOX.PROJECT New York 2.0, New York City, NY, USA
2023 Kiltapaviljonki, Espoo Artists’ Guild, Gallery Gjutars, Vantaa, Finland
2023 “Kaava”, Espoo Artists’ Guild, Gallery Uusikipinä, Lahti, Finland
2015–2023, 2013, 2012 6×6, Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Rochester, NY, USA
2022–2023 Winter Art Market, Gumbostrand Konst & Form, Söderkulla, Finland
2022 ARTBOX.PROJECT Venice Biennale, Biennale Artbox Expo, Venice, Italy
2022 “Tavallisuuden pelko” (Fear of the Ordinary), Espoo Artists’ Guild, Art Centre Ahjo, Joensuu, and Ronga, Tampere, Finland
2021 ARTBOX.PROJECT Barcelona 1.0, Valid World Hall, Barcelona, Spain
2021 ARTBOX.PROJECT World 1.0, ARTBOX.GALLERY Zurich, Switzerland
2020 SWISSARTEXPO/ARTBOX.PROJECT Zürich 2.0, ARTBOX.GALLERY, Zurich, Switzerland
2019, 2017, 2015 ArtFair, Muu Artists’ Association, Cable Factory, Helsinki, Finland
2018 “Suomi Nyt ja Tulevaisuudessa” (Finland Now and in the Future), Gumbostrand Konst & Form, Söderkulla, Finland
2017 “He & She”, Gumbostrand Konst & Form, Söderkulla, Finland
2016 Repin Institute 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Gallery Krypta, Helsinki, and Maritime Centre Vellamo, Kotka, Finland
2016 ArtExpo, Domus Romana, Rome, Italy
2016 Project 5000m2 group exhibition, Lappeenranta, Finland
2016, 2013, 2011 Group exhibitions, Kotka Photographic Centre, Kotka, Finland
2015 Joint exhibition with Timo Mähönen, Moisio Manor, Kouvola, and ArtPort Kotka, Kotka, Finland
2014, 2012 Joint exhibition, Arte Studio Ginestrelle, Art Gallery Le Logge, Assisi, Italy
2014 Degree Show, Imatra Art Museum, Imatra, Finland
2013 Off-the-Wall, The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia – MOCA GA, Atlanta, USA
2013 NASAD, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA, USA
2013 Summer Exhibition, Gumbostrand Konst & Form, Söderkulla, Finland
2012, 2011 Summer Exhibition, Koskisto Art Centre, Kouvola, Finland
2012, 2011 Konstrundan 12, Studio Nina Mattila, Kotka, Finland
2012 “Maaemon huuto II” (Cry of Mother Earth II), group exhibition, Gallery Fogga, Helsinki, Finland
2012 Postcard Legacy Campaign Exhibit, Colorado Mesa University Art Gallery, Colorado, USA
2012 Photo project: She Blocks the Highway, group exhibition, Hong Kong, China
2011 Summer Exhibition, McNeill Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2011 “Women in the Arts Exhibition”, online group exhibition, ARTROM Gallery, Rome, Italy
2010 “Toisesta todellisuudesta” (From Another Reality), photography exhibition, Imatra Art Museum, Imatra, Finland
2010 Finnish Cultural Foundation, Kymenlaakso Regional Fund 50th Anniversary Exhibition and Repin Institute Fine Arts Programme Exhibition, Kouvola Art Museum Poikilo, Kouvola, Finland
2010 Kymenlaakso Regional Exhibition, Kotka Photographic Centre, Kotka, Finland
COLLECTIONS
Brooklyn Art Library, New York, USA
University of West Georgia, USA
Numerous corporate and private collections in Finland, the USA, Italy and Spain
MEMBERSHIPS
Finnish Painters’ Union
Muu Artists’ Association
Espoo Visual Artists
Espoo Artists’ Guild
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
2015 Honourable Mention, Professional Photography category, PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris, France
2013 Dean’s List, University of West Georgia, USA
2012 Honourable Mention, “Altered Images” competition, PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris, France
2011 Finalist & People’s Choice Award – 2nd Place (Professional Press), PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris, France
2010 Top 10, Women in the Arts Edition No. 2 art competition, ArtRom Gallery, Rome, Italy
2009 Kolahtaako? Film Week (working group), City of Kotka Cultural Achievement of the Year 2009, Kotka, Finland
2005 Kotka Goes Document (working group), City of Kotka Cultural Achievement of the Year 2005, Kotka, Finland
POSITIONS OF TRUST
2016–2017 Board Member, Espoo Artists’ Association
2011–2017 Board Member, Kotka Photographic Centre (Chair 2015, Vice Chair 2011, Exhibition Committee Member 2011–2015)
2015 Board Member, Kotka Artists’ Association
2012 Board Member, Kotka Art Association
2010–2011 Development Working Group Member, Repin Institute, Kymenlaakso Summer University
2004–2013 Working Group Member, Kolahtaako? Film Event
PUBLICATIONS
2021 The Sketchbook Project Vol 17 – “Lines and Shapes”, Brooklyn Art Library, New York, USA
2021 The Sketchbook Project Vol 17 – “Me, Myself and I”, Brooklyn Art Library, New York, USA
2020 The Sketchbook Project Vol 16 – “Doubt Everything…”, Brooklyn Art Library, New York, USA
2014 “Kyse ei ole vain eläimestä tai ihmisestä” (It Is Not Only About an Animal or a Human), BFA thesis
GRANTS
2022, 2020, 2018, 2016 Project Grant, City of Espoo
2015 Working Grant, City of Kotka
2011–2015 Project Grant, City of Kotka
2013 Travel Grant, William and Ester Otsakorpi Foundation
ARTIST RESIDENCIES
2014 Artist Residency, Arte Studio Ginestrelle, Assisi (Perugia), Italy