Ville Karlsson
About the Artist
Ville Karlsson (b. 1994, Kajaani) works with things whose deepest essence lies in questioning the art object; the ontological questions of art and its definition. He does not believe that an individual “creates” art, but rather contributes to the concept of art; thus, the nature of all art is, to some extent, paradoxically immaterial.
His recent practice examines the social, economic, and intermedial conditions of exhibition-making; agency, authorship, and the placement of “non-artistic” gestures within an exhibition setting. Karlsson approaches everything presented within an exhibition context as being mediated by the exhibition itself, meaning that the elements within it do not require separate definition. In his exhibitions, he utilizesready-made objects, spatiality, text, moving and still images—anything within the conditions of space, situations, and frameworks.
Through exhibitions, Karlsson explores themes such as institutional critique, consumption, metamodernism, and social phenomena using both aesthetic and anti-aesthetic means. He is interested in the potential of artistic sensitivity in everyday life, within which presence and meaning-making feel more essential.
Exhibitions
Kuvan Kevät 2026
15.5.-14.6.2026
BFA Exhibition 2024
About the artwork
The piece is a composition whose material frames consist of text and screens.