Ida Immonen

(She/her)
Address: Villa Romsli / Romsli vev og fargeri, Odvar Solbergs vei 83, 0973 Oslo
Floor: -1
The studio is open Saturday 26 April from 12-17

Open map

I am a Finnish textile artist living and working in Oslo. The Finnish ryijy-rugs (ryas) forms the basis for my works. This is an ancient hand-knotting technique, traditionally woven in a loom. I use plant-dyed wool and recycled fibres. My works address themes such as nationalism, feminism, the climate and overconsumption, as well as interpersonal feelings. This is told through everyday moments depicted in my rugs, but also through the choice of materials and titles.

Textile

www.idaimmonen.com

Two abstract images made with the rya technique. A small one on the left side, the upper part of the work is white, below it is green, yellow and beige. Mounted sideways on the wall with the steel rod. Another large rya on the right. Hanging from the ceiling with two steel rods. Color is green, yellow and beige. The upper part of the work is a striped flat weave and forms a kind of roof, long warp threads hang on the back. Front side has floss.

IN THE RIGHT HANDS 46. Tendencies 2024, Gallery F 15 Left: Artemisia vulgaris: When the snow has melted, a new life appears - hope / Hand-knotted rye with linen, undyed and wool dyed with mugwort (lat. Artemisia vulgaris) / 27 x 54 (cm) / 2023 Right: Artemisia vulgaris: There is no light without darkness - forgiveness / Hand-knotted rye with linen, undyed and wool dyed with mugwort / 133 x 300 (cm) / 2022-2023 Photo: Eivind Lauritzen / Gallery F 15

A woman in a black jacket looks at an appliquéd book. She lifts a page where you see a picture of a back of a human, wearing a white bra and beige jeans.

From the exhibition Democracy at Wergelandshaugen Art Center in autumn 2023 / Ida Immonen / I dream of you / A book made from my own textile waste, the pages are appliquéd, hand-embroidered and hand-tufted images and hand-embroidered texts in Norwegian, Finnish and Braille in both languages / 46 x 72 x 13 (cm) / 2023 and images of the book projected on the wall Photo: Erik B. Myklebust

You can see a small piece of a turquoise appliqued page of a book. On the side, it is hand-embroidered with red thread "I spilled tea on the tablecloth". The same is embroidered on braille with blue thread.

Detail from I dream of you / / 46 x 72 x 13 (cm) / Ida Immonen / A book made from my own textile waste, the pages are appliquéd, hand-embroidered and hand-tufted images and hand-embroidered texts in Norwegian, Finnish and Braille in both languages / 46 x 72 x 13 (cm) / 2023 / From the exhibition Democracy at Wergelandshaugen art center in autumn 2023 Photo: Erik B. Myklebust

Ten small rya rugs in a row, the colors are red, beige, yellow, brown and green. The first carpet is short with a few long red threads, the next is short, then some long red threads, the next two have a very long fluff pile that goes all the way down to the floor and the works are turned so that the backsides flat weave is forward, the next one is short, but also reversed like this. Then there is a long one, but the fluffy side is visible. The last three are short with fluff on the front.

Part of the series: Artemisia vulgaris - Some wounds heal slowly / Hand-knotted rya with linen and wool dyed with mugwort, birch, alder, and spruce, as well as plastic waste and recycled fibers Width of each rya 17 cm / Shown at the travelling exhibition "Fiber og tråd" Dialogue between generations at Levanger Art Association, Steinkjer Art Association, Oppdal Art Association and Orkdal Art Association in 2024-2025 Photo: Private

In my studio

Iḿ sharing my atelier with Arna Kristine Lund-Johnsen, Mari Ulland og Rosanna Vibe. We all have our practices in weaving and in our atelier it is possible to get to know different weaving techniques and dyes in our dyeing room.

Planned projects and exhibitions

I am working on two projects. My main project is called Artemisia vulgaris and consists of handwoven and embroidered works where the color comes from the plant Artemisia vulgaris (Mugwort). I’m exhibiting works from Artemisia vulgaris -series as part of a group exhibition “Fiber og tråd” Dialog mellom generasjoner (2024-2025) and in Gallery RAM in august 2025.

I work also with textile books where each page is an appliquéd and embroidered collage made from textile waste. The books have also hand-embroidered texts in both Norwegian, Finnish and Braille in both languages. These books will be exhibited in libraries both in Norway and Finland.

CV

Education
2019 MFA in Medium- and Material Based Art, Oslo National Academy of the Arts, Norway
2017 Bachelor Of Culture And Arts, Saimaa University of Applied Sciences, Imatra, Finland
2016 Erasmus exchange, Oslo National Academy of the Arts, Norway

Upcoming Exhibitions
2025 Galleri RAM, Oslo (Duo exhibition)
2024-2025 “Fiber og tråd” Dialog mellom generasjoner, Levanger Kunstforening,
Steinkjer Kunstforening, Oppdal Kunstlag og Orkdal Kunstforening (Group Exhibition)

Solo Exhibitions
2023 Artemisia vulgaris – et fjell jeg aldri nådde, Glasslåven Art Center, Gran
2019 Feel Me – See Me, Gallery Seilduken 2, Oslo, Norway

Selected Group Exhibitions
2024 TENDENSER 2024 – I DE RETTE HENDER, Galleri F 15, Moss
2023 PointCounterPoint, Interkulturelt Museum, Oslo
2023 Demokrati, Wergelandshaugen kunstsenter, Eidsvoll
2022 Jeg kaller det kunst, Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo
2021 Collective Resilience, Moss Kunstforening
2019 Big Awards Collective Exhibition, CAGE Gallery, Barcelona, Spain
2019 Got It For Cheap / Velvet Ropes, Golsa, Oslo og Trondheim

Works in Collections
Heinolan Taidemuseon ystävät ry:n kokoelma
(Collection of The Association for Friends of Heinola Museum of Art), Finland

Position of responsibility
2023- Board member in Norwegian Textile Artists

Memberships
Norske tekstilkunstnere (Norwegian Textile Artists)
Norske Billedkunstnere (The Association of Norwegian Visual Artists)
Romsli vev og fargeri (Romsli Weaving and Dyeing)

Residencies
2024 Leveld Kunstnartun Air, Ål, Norway
2023 WH Air, Wergelandshaugen Salonger, Eidsvoll, Norway
2021 AiR Green, Art Residency at Søndre Green farm, Noresund, Norway

Grants
2025 Miscellaneous grant, Oslo municipality
2024 Project grant, Billedkunstnernes Vederlagsfond
2024 Miscellaneous grant, Arts Council Norway
2023 Project grant, Otto A. Malm Foundation, Finland
2020 Work grant for younger and newly established artists, 3 years, Arts Council Norway
2020 Young Artists` Grant, Finnish Art Society
2019 Miscellaneous grant for recently graduated artists, Arts Council Norway