Global InformationPekka Sassi information
Pekka Sassi (born 1969) is a Finnish media artist whose works include dozens of experimental sound and video pieces, short films, installations and music.[1][2]
Sassi studied in the Department of Time and Space-based Art at the Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki, receiving a master's degree in 2000. He has additionally studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London.[3] He lives and works in Helsinki, Finland, and is married to the Finnish visual artist Elena Näsänen.
In 1995 Sassi received the Ducat Prize, the oldest art award in Finland, presented annually by the Finnish Art Society to a young artist in recognition of special merit.[4] At the Tampere film festival of 2000 he was awarded as the most promising young artist of the year.[5] In 2006 he received the AVEK award, the most significant recognition for media art in Finland.[6] In 2010 at the 23rd European Media Art Festival in Osnabrück, Germany, he received the EMAF Award for a trend-setting work in media art for the experimental film "The Suburb Within."[7] The jury found the piece "refreshingly minimalistic, but with an extraordinary sense of humor". "The Suburb Within" (2009) was seen to stand out from the usual flood of images while not leaving out "classic narration or a well-structured setup."[8]
In 2020 Pekka Sassi was awarded the Maire Gullichsen Prize for contemporary art. The Prize Committee said in its statement:
"Sassi is a versatile artist, who has been making art in an avant-garde spirit for twenty years. Experimental moving images and sound form the core of his art. Sassi has an ability to condense his observations into unadorned fragments that contain multifaceted layers which hint at different meanings and times."[9]
- ^ Pekka Sassi. Profile of the artist in the Distribution Centre for Finnish Media Art AV-arkki. Accessed 9.9.2018.
- ^ Pekka Sassi in the Elonet database of the National Audiovisual Institute (KAVI). Accessed 9.9.2018.
- ^ Sassi, Pekka: CV. www.galleriaheino.fi. Accessed 21 October 2021.
- ^ Suomen taideyhdistys on myöntänyt dukaattipalkintoja Nuorten näyttelyn osanottajille. [The Finnish Art Society has awarded Ducat prizes to participants of the exhibition of the young artists.] Helsingin Sanomat, 17.6.1995.
- ^ Kangasjärvi, Jukka: Tampereen kansainväliset lyhytelokuvajuhlat 2000 -raportti. [Report from the Tampere international short film festival of 2000.] www.film-o-holic.com, 24.3.2000. Accessed 9.9.2018.
- ^ Mediataiteen Avek-palkinto Pekka Sassille. [The Avek award for media art to Pekka Sassi.] YLE news 7.9.2006. Accessed 9.9.2018.
- ^ Sassi, Pekka: "The Suburb Within". AV-arkki, Works. Accessed 21 October 2021.
- ^ Award Ceremony at the 23rd European Media Art Festival, Osnabrück, 2010. 2016.emaf.de Accessed 9.9.2018.
- ^ Artist Pekka Sassi receives 2020 Maire Gullichsen prize. Alvar Aalto Foundation, press release 28 May 2021. Accessed 21 October 2021.