Yasushi Koyama

Name : Lempeä leijona (Gentle lion)

Art work : Functional sculpture of the lion bench

Size : 150 x 60 x 60 cm

Material : CLT (cross laminated timber)

Place : Katariina daycare center, Kotka

Support : Finnish cultural foudation Kymenlaakso

Publications :

Yle Kymenlaakso 25.10.2023, Kymen Sanomat 25.10.2023

I created a functional sculpture of the lion bench at an artist residency in Art center Antares in Sippola, Finland in 4.9 - 27.10. 2023. I donated the functional art of lion bench to Katariina daycare center in Kotka, Finland on 25.10.2023 as public art. It has belonged to the art collection of the Kotka city.

My purpose was to create a large wood sitting bench, which has a lion shape. It meant that I created a functional art as an artistic sitting bench in the fields of art, design and architecture. Through this project of functional art, I would like to give people not only happiness & well-being but also the sense of smooth touch, sitting experience, participation, and social inclusion in a public place as contemporary public art.

When I painted the face of a lion, I imagined the atmosphere of the daycare center and was thinking that I would like to give gentle and kind feelings to children, parents, grand parents, daycare center teachers and other workers there. In addition this is the functional sculpture to sit on. So I hope they enjoy sitting on it anytime or when they wait for parents, grand-parents, or children.

On 25.10.2023 I transported the lion bench sculpture to Katariina daycare center. After I placed it on the floor, immediately 7 children came and sat on the sculpture all together. Daycare center teachers, a transportation team, a museum person looked so happy while watching them. Finnish broadcasting company Yle wrote down an article about the reaction of children to the lion sculpture on the day.

In the end, I am very thankful for all the supports to Tiiu Antinen & Pasi Rantala (art center Antares), Tomi Provaara (cultural director of the Kotka city), Irene Sipari-Vilhunen (director of Katariina daycare center) , Mirkka Kallio ( art collection of the Kotka city) , Sahi Karola (Lecturer of Aalto University) and Finnish cultural foundation Kymenlaakso.

This art project was supported by Finnish cultural foundation Kymenlaakso in 2023.

My animal wood sculptures were placed in open air space of the Lippulaiva library in Espoo as public art on 26.9.2022. Owl, Seagull, Stoat, Great spotted woodpecker, Squirrel and Willow tit are welcoming you outside of the entrance area in Lippulaiva library.

The themes of this public art are Contemporary cuteness, Social inclusion and Finnish animals,.

The cuteness of my art is an important element for my public art project in the contemporary art context. Cuteness is different from beauty. It has positive energy and spreads into people’s mind smoothly. I feel that cuteness is easier for people to accept than beauty that has strong messages. So I would like to use the cuteness for my public art project.

At the same time the public needs “inclusion” in society to prevent from any social exclusion. Social inclusion is more necessary for children, the counter-public, handicapped people, isolated people, old people. I imagine that visitors of the library include a lot of people who have different backgrounds. I hope my art will support for the visitors to feel social inclusion in a space of the library.

I created wood sculptures of Finnish animals which Finnish people feel familiar with. Those animal sculptures have contemporary cuteness. Each work has each meaning. (Below)

I was working for the public art project in Lippulaiva library between November 2021 and September 2022 with Espoo city, Lippulaiva library and EMMA (Espoo museum of modern art). I am very thankful for the cooperation and supports for this project to Henna, Tuomas, Simo (EMMA) and Laura, and technitians (Espoo city).

At the first floor of Kuopio University Hospital in Finland, I placed my large wood sculpture “Fisher´s luck bear” (“Karhun kalaonni” in Finnish) on 20.6.2022 as public art.

19.4.-26.5.2022 I created the large wood sculpture “Fisher´s luck bear” (155 x 50 x 50 cm) at the studio of boat factory in Savisaari, where an artist residency of Kuopio academy of design arranged for me. Kuopio´s bronze statue “Veljmies” holding fishes and Ainu wood sculptures of bear had an influence on this work. It was shown at my solo exhibition “Herra otso” in Galleria Ars Libera in Kuopio 28.5.-19.6.2022. After the exhibition it was given to Kuopio University Hospital.

The bear is waiting to meet people such as children, old people, patients, nurses, doctors, all the workers and all the vistors in the hospital. My public art project in Kuopio 2022 is accomplished. I am very thankful for cooperations and supports to Kuopio University Hospital, Galleria Ars Libera, Kuopio academy of design, Henna Hietanen, A-P Inkinen, and Art promotion center Finland!

Instagram / Kuopio University Hospital .

At the school entrance of Lahti Steiner school in Lahti, Finland I placed my large wood sculpture “Weaving bear” (“Tassua heiluttava karhu” in Finnish) on 2.6.2021. This was my Art for Children project in 2021.

I created the large wood sculpture “Weaving bear” (152 x 51 x 50 cm ) in a studio of Painovoima Oy in Lahti 15.7 - 25.8.2020. The theme of artwork is “Friendly” as the bear is weaving his hand friendly to others with smiling. After creating, firstly I showed it to the public in my solo exhibition “Spring Forest” 28.4 - 16.5.2021 and then I placed it into Lahti Steiner school on 2.6.2021.

In the process of this Art for Children project 2021, Galleria Uusi Kipinä and Pekka Litmanen (my school friend & the representative of Painovoima Oy) supported me. I am very thankful to them.

And I appreciate that Lahti Steiner school accepted the work “Weaving bear” as the project. I am sure that “Weaving bear” will contribute to school children, teachers & all the workers in Lahti Steiner school for their well-being, social inclusion and happiness.

The corona pandemic has had influence on this art creating and my solo exhibition. Both were postponed from spring 2020. Though it was difficult for me, I was very happy while making this bear sculpture in the studio of Painovoima in Lahti in summer 2020. I felt happiness of art creation and positive energy from this large wood sculpturing. I was also very happy to have had my solo exhibition in Galleria Uusi Kipinä in Spring 2021 with this art work. So personally this large work is a kind of symbol for me to express happiness of art creation and to get over difficulties of corona pandemic. I will be so pleased if school children feel such happiness through the work “Weaving bear”.

I made my "Art for Children project" for blind children in 2019. The project is for them to be able to touch & hug a wood sculpture of dog. An artwork is a life-size dog sculpture (60 x 35 x 25 cm) from wood. I created the wood sculpture of dog in my studio in Helsinki in October - December 2019 and donated it to blind students in Valteri school Skilla in Helsinki in Uusimaa, Finland in December 2019.

I created the sculpture of an ordinary life-sized dog for blind children to make them imagine & understand that the artwork is the sculpture of dog. Through this project I would like to give happiness to blind children to be able to touch the art of dog sculpture.

On 17.12.2019 I visited the school Skilla and gave the sculpture of Guide dog for blind students. There I met some blind students. They touched it and looked happy! I also talked with them about the dog sculpture, Japan, my life in Finland. It was a precious moment.

For the idea of Art for Blind Children project I had an experience to have met one blind student. When I was selling my small ceramic sculpture in art market, one blind boy (about 10 years old) and his mother came to me. The mother asked me "Can we touch a dog sculpture?" and I told "Yes". Then they touched it and he understood that it was a dog. I was so moved to have seen this moment. I felt that my dog sculpture could give a happiness to blind children and could go beyond a visual art by touching. I thought that the sense of touch would have been able to give happiness and a new cultural experience for a blind student. A dog is very important animal to support blind people for their lives. For blind people a dog is like their essential friend in their lives. So I wanted to create the guide dog sculpture for them.

Through this project I would like to give blind children a happiness by touch and a cultural experience. This is an inspiration and a purpose of my project. I hope it will be accomplished in Skilla.

This project was granted by Art Promotion Centre Uusimaa (Taike Uusimaa). Thank you Taike Uusimaa & Skilla, teachers and students there!

I created the large wood sculpture “Big raccoon” in garage space of culture center Kanneltalo in Kaarela, Helsinki 1.6 -9.7.2018. It was one project of Art Ring (Taidekehä 2018) juried by Helsinki artist association. The purpose of project was social inclusion.

During my working I showed the process of wood sculpturing. More than 300 people such as old & young, men & women, workers & students came to see the process. Especially many children in youth center visited with teachers and also many children with families visited. They often touched the wood when I stopped sculpturing. They experienced to touch the large wood and liked the feeling of it. And some people visited to see the process of wood sculpturing many times. Other people took photos of my wood sculpturing process. I really enjoyed communicating with them. I am very thankful to all the visitors for visiting, seeing, touching, talking, photoshooting and giving good comments.

Then I joined in Art Ring exhibition with other project artists in Kanneltalo gallery 5.12 -27.12.2018. The sculpture is able to touch and hug for exhibition visitors. It is art not only for art lovers but also for children, counterpublics, the handicapped and ordinary people. After the exhibition the work was given to Marminkartano Youth Center on 28.12.2018.

About the place to donate I talked with Taidekehä project director Anna Puhakka and we decided youth center as the place to donate because many children came to see the process of wood sculpturing in garage of Kanneltalo.

This art project was supported by Helsinki artist association in 2018.

In 2017 I joined in Mänttä Art Festival that was the Finnish largest Summer Art Festival curated by Pirjetta Brander. In April and May 2017 I stayed to work at the working space in Pekilo in Mänttä to create a large wood sculpture "Penguin mom & baby" for the Festival. After the festival I talked with Mänttä Art Festival committee and donated it to Maternity clinic (Neuvola) in Mänttä-Vilppula, Finland as my Art for Children project 2017.

This art project was supported by Finnish cultural foundation (central foundation) in 2017.

In 2016 I made “Art for Children project 2016”. I created the large wood sculpture “Panda papa & child” (162 x 82 x 80 cm, 450 kg) for children to be able to touch and hug. I showed it to the public in Galleria AARNI in Espoo 23.11 - 18.12.2016. After that I donated it to children`s department in Sello library in Espoo, Finland. Librarians made the opening party of it to the public in the library. Children, parents, librarians, visitors participated in it. Librarian told me that many children hugged the panda statue.

This art work project and the exhibition were supported by art promotion center Finland in 2016.

In my project Art for Children 2015 I created the large wood sculpture “Panda Mom & child” for children to be able to touch and hug. It is 1.6 m high and 400 kg weight. I had my solo exhibition in MUU Kaapeli gallery in Cable factory in Helsinki, Finland for 5 weeks 30.7- 6.9.2015. For 3 weeks I showed the process of large wood sculpturing to exhibition visitors. It was also art performance to create a large wood sculpture in the gallery space in front of visitors. Then for 2 weeks I showed the sculpture to the public there. I also show it in my exhibition in Malmitalo gallery. After the exhibitions I donated it to Helsinki Rudolf Steiner School in November 2015 to give school children happiness and a joy of touch. The school invited me to the small opening party of Panda mom & child on 25.11.2015. One teacher gave me the comment “The children are very much enjoying the Panda and it is hugged many times every day!”.

This art project was supported by Art promotion center Finland in 2015.

The second work "Panda mom & baby" is 1.5 m high and about 200 kg weight. The panda mom, holding on her baby tightly, gives kind and warm feelings to everybody. It was made for Aizpute city in the granted project of SERDE artist residency in Aizpute, Latvia in 2013. On 21.6.2013 we carried my wood sculpture Panda mom & baby by forklift from SERDE artist residency to the riverside park in the city center in Aizpute, Latvia and settled it on the cement basement there. In the afternoon we had a small opening ceremony for it with the Mayer, citizens and some children. I got many bunches of flowers from them. Though it was a small ceremony, it was a very nice moment!

This art project was supported by artist residency SERDE and Aizpute city in 2013.

The first large work "Big Panda" is more than 1 m high and much more than 100 kg weight. To complete the work I carefully carved into a large tree."Big Panda",that hands up to the sky, was donated to "Lastenlinna" where is the pediatric hospital of children in Helsinki, Finland in 2012. In Lastenlinna “Big Panda” has delighted children, their parents and nurses since then. The head nurse told me that “we have been very happy with Big Panda. It has given a lot of happiness to us, our little patients and their parents everyday with his open arms.” “Big panda” had healed children to fight with their disease every day for 6 years. In summer 2018 it was replaced into the entrance of children´s department in Rihardinkatu library in Helsinki, Finland because Lastenlinna moved into a new building.