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Sakkinen is the founder of Turbo Realism, an art movement that uses critical irony, provocation and intervention as means of addressing sociopolitical and economic issues of the modern capitalist world through visual arts. Turbo Realism aims to pinpoint the irony within commercial and political structures and actions through reconstructing familiar imagery and multilingual vocabulary into a new combination of refined and truthful meaning beyond their original commercial use. The result is often a painting or a drawing, containing slogan-like statements, that seems joyful and ordinary at the surface but has an ironic intention of creating a feeling that something is indeed horribly wrong with the world. Sakkinen has stated his view on art through the words of Pablo Picasso: ”The art is not made to decorate rooms. It is an offensive weapon in the defence against the enemy.” In addition to his works on canvas and paper, Sakkinen has actively created installations, interventions and happenings as well as designed objects that combine multiple media. He has held numerous solo and group shows in Europe and The United States and his works are included in the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Amos Anderson Art Museum and Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki

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MUSEUM COLLECTIONS

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Aine Art Museum. Tornio, Finland

Amos Rex. Helsinki

Artsi Vantaa Art Museum. Vantaa, Finland

Bury Art Museum & Sculpture Centre. Bury, United Kingdom

EMMA - Espoo Museum of Modern Art. Saastamoinen Foundation. Espoo, Finland

Fundación Canaria para el Desarollo de Pintura. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain

 Helsinki Art Museum HAM. Helsinki

Hyvinkää Art Museum. Hyvinkää, Finland

Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art. Helsinki

Mataró Contemporary Art Museum. Mataró, Spain - Museolaboratorio - Exmanifattura de Tabacchi. Città Sant ́ Angelo, Italy

Museum of Modern Art. New York 

Rauma Art Museum. Rauma, Finland

Serlachius Museums. Mänttä, Finland

SONS Museum. Kruishoutem, Belgium

Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art. Turku, Finland 

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EDUCATION 

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1997-2002 Master of Fine Arts. Academy of Fine Arts. Helsinki 

1998-1999 & 2001 Erasmus studies. Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Castile-La Mancha. Cuenca, Spain

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SOLO SHOWS 

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2020 - Riiko Sakkinen’s Megalomania. Makasiini Contemporary - Animal Show Business. Galerie Forsblom. Helsinki - Taxonomy of Anthropomorphic Animals. Natural History Museum. Helsinki 

2019 - Bad Hair Day Leaders. Feat. Louis Houenoude. Himmelblau. Tampere, Finland 

2018 - Late Night Capitalism. Makasiini Contemporary. Turku - Riiko Sakkinen’s Drawing Room. Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki - Bad Hair Day Leaders. Feat. Louis Houenoude. La Légende. Grand-Popo, Benin - Capitalist Color Theory. Galería Kernel. Cáceres, Spain 

2017 - Presidenttipeli. Hyvinkää Art Museum. Hyvinkää, Finland - My Austrian Friends. Collectors Agenda. Vienna - Closing Borders. Curated by Pauli Sivonen. Serlachius Museums. Mänttä, Finland - White Trash Blues. Galerie Forsblom. Helsinki 

2016 - The ABC of Capitalism. Bury Art Museum & Sculpture Centre. Bury, United Kingdom - Summer Job. Ti-la. Jyväskylä, Finland - Syrian Superman and Other Ceramic Plates from Talavera de la Reina. Nationalmuseum. Stockholm 

2015 - Turbo Realism. Galerie Forsblom. Helsinki 

2014 - Capitalistes Sans Frontières. Cyan Gallery. Barcelona - MuNA - Museum of No Art. Curated by Pauli Sivonen. Serlachius Museums. Mänttä, Finland - Riiko Sakkinen Painted Himself into a Corner. Korjaamo Galleria. Helsinki - Used Panties and Dirty Bombs. Curated by Eeropekka Rislakki. Galleria Ville. Nurmijärvi, Finland 

2013 - Respetando los derechos humanos nunca saldremos de la crisis. Espacio AVAart. Gijón, Spain - Cake Theory. Collaboration with Katja Tukiainen. Curated by Jernej Skof. Galerija Alkatraz. Ljubljana - Riiko Sakkinen's Favorite Books. Unauthorized intervention. Rikhardinkatu Public Library. Helsinki 

2012 - Syria Study Center. Korjaamo Galleria. Helsinki - Turbokapitalismin kehitysselvitys. Galleria Koivulinna. Pukkila, Finland - East West Banana Split. Collaboration with Nisrine Boukhari. All Art Now. Damascus 

2011 - Syria for Dummies. Espacio Trapézio. Madrid - Operation Golden Monkey. Collaboration with Judas Arrieta, featuring Cao Huan Yi. Korjaamo Galleria. Helsinki - China for Dummies. Collaboration with Judas Arrieta. Culture Tram. Helsinki - My Favorite Escort Girls from the People's Republic of China. Tuntemattomien Kontti. Helsinki - No preguntes qué puede hacer el capitalismo por tí, sino qué puedes hacer tu por el capitalismo. Curated by Raúl Zamudio. Pristine Galerie. Monterrey, Mexico - Exigimos Libertad de Expresión Pero No Tenemos Nada Que Decir. Blo Laboratorio Digital. Talavera de la Reina, Spain - My Favorite Escort Girls and Banks in the People's Republic of China. Galerie e.l Bannwarth. Paris 

2010 - Riiko Sakkinen's Encyclopedia (Revised and Updated Edition). Curated by Suvi Saloniemi. Kunsthalle Helsinki - Escribid a Papá Noel y Pedid Libertad. Galería Gacma. Málaga, Spain - Sweetshop Sweatshop. The Finnish Norwegian Cultural Institute. Oslo - My Favorite Lists. Korjaamo Galleria. Helsinki 

2009 - Free World. Collaboration with Jani Leinonen. Bourouina Gallery. Berlin - Asia Belongs to Us. Judas Arrieta Vs. Riiko Sakkinen, Feat. Cao Huan Yi. MA Studio. Beijing - Jani and Riiko's Free World. Collaboration with Jani Leinonen. Amos Anderson Art Museum. Helsinki - Jani and Riiko's Presidential Suite. Collaboration with Jani Leinonen. Hotel Klaus K. Helsinki - Kosmostars. Korjaamo Galleria. Helsinki 

2008 - Consommateur, applaudis, le spectacle est partout. Bourouina Gallery. Berlin - Human Rights Damage Our Economy. Galerie e.l Bannwarth. Paris - Jag skulle inte vilja hata Sverige men jag vågar inte hata Ryssland. Finlandsinstitutet. Stockholm 

2007 - Todo en el Sur Es Tercer Mundo. Instituto Iberoamericano de Finlandia. Madrid - Let’s Happy Life - Sparkling Girl Brings about a Revolution. Curated by Timo Valjakka. Korjaamo. Helsinki - Refreshing Molotov Cocktails. Curated by Jani Leinonen. Bar No.9. Helsinki 

2006 - More Mustard Gas and Tomato Ketchup (My Very Best Friendly Fire). Transit. Mechelen, Belgium 

2005 - Small Boys Units South Beach Diet. Galleria Krista Mikkola. Helsinki - Colon(ialismo) Madrid Remix. Los 29 Enchufes en Espacio F. Madrid 

2004 - Boz Ulu Delgin. Collaboration with Neil Fauerso and Jani Leinonen. Testsite. Austin, Texas - Earn Money Without a Job. Collaboration with Jani Leinonen. The Bower. San Antonio, Texas - Everything I Don't Understand Must Be Sin. Priska C. Juschka Fine Art. New York 

2003 - Western World in Colors (Teen sen rahasta). Galleria Krista Mikkola. Helsinki - Keep on the Asphalt. Collaboration with Niko Luoma and Katja Tukiainen. Curated by Krista Mikkola. Exhibition at Cable Factory. Helsinki. Action in Sarajevo, Athens, Tirana and Helsinki - Riiko Sakkinen's Express Kebab Pizza. Featuring Inmaculada Díaz and Görsky Grytvic. Transit. Mechelen, Belgium 

2002 - T-shirt Stall. Action. Curated by Heather Galbraith. Camden Arts Centre. London - Jani Leinonen Vs. Riiko Sakkinen. Collaboration with Jani Leinonen. Kluuvin Galleria, Helsinki Art Museum. Helsinki 

2000 - Paha maito. Guest stars: Simo Brotherus, Inmaculada Díaz, Görsky Grytvic, Joonas Kota, Ritva Narinen, Cecilia Stenbom, Erkki Veltheim and Gudrun F. Widlok. Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts. Helsinki 

1999 - Sillas y Otros Paisajes. Finnish Academy of Fine Arts. Helsinki - Trípticos Instalaciones Inmobiliarias. Curated by Inmaculada Díaz. Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Castile-La Mancha. Cuenca, Spain 1996 - Kotitalouspornoa. Galleria Jangva. Helsinki 

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