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Marja Vallila was born in [[Prague]], [[Czechoslovakia]]<ref name=”Exhibits”>{{cite news |date=14 February 1979 |title=Marja Vallila Exhibits Metal Works |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117344977/marja-vallila-1950-2018/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127055421/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117344977/marja-vallila-1950-2018/ |archive-date=27 January 2023 |access-date=27 January 2023 |work=[[Brattleboro Reformer]] |location=Brattleboro, VT |page=7 |via=[[Ancestry.com#Newspapers.com|Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref> to a Finnish father, diplomat Olli Vallila, and a mother of Czech descent, Rúzena (Rose) Stepánka.<ref name=”FB” /><ref>{{cite web |title=Marja Vallila – Works |url=https://www.binderprojects.com/marja-vallila-works |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528211407/https://www.binderprojects.com/marja-vallila-works |archive-date=28 May 2019 |access-date=29 May 2019 |website=Binder Projects}}</ref> She later moved to [[Geneva]] ([[Switzerland]]), then [[Finland]], and finally settled in [[Washington DC]] where she learned a fourth language and attended [[Duke Ellington School of the Arts|Western High school, renamed (1974) Duke Ellington School of the Arts]] in the [[Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)|Georgetown]] neighborhood. She pursued her education at [[Cornell University]] (master of fine arts),<ref name=”Exhibits”/><ref>{{cite news |date=9 September 1975 |title=Exhibition in Putney |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117272495/marja-vallila-1950-2018/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20251113-003622/https://www.newspapers.com/article/bennington-banner-marja-vallila-1950-20/117272495/ |archive-date=13 November 2025 |access-date=26 January 2023 |work=[[Bennington Banner]] |location=Bennington, VT |page=8 |via=[[Ancestry.com#Newspapers.com|Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Vallila, Marja (American sculptor, born 1950) |url=https://www.getty.edu/vow/ULANFullDisplay?find=&role=&nation=&subjectid=500060102 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240710183115/https://www.getty.edu/vow/ULANFullDisplay?find=&role=&nation=&subjectid=500060102 |archive-date=10 July 2024 |access-date=12 November 2025 |website=[[Union List of Artist Names]] |publisher=[[Getty Research Institute]]}}</ref> ([[Fulbright Program|Fulbright]] grantee) and participated in exhibitions at the [[Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6KbpAAAAMAAJ&q=Marja+Vallila |title=Handbook of the Collections |publisher=[[Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art]] |year=1981 |pages=106 |language=en |oclc=8899281 |access-date=12 November 2025 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

Marja Vallila was born in [[Prague]], [[Czechoslovakia]]<ref name=”Exhibits”>{{cite news |date=14 February 1979 |title=Marja Vallila Exhibits Metal Works |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117344977/marja-vallila-1950-2018/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127055421/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117344977/marja-vallila-1950-2018/ |archive-date=27 January 2023 |access-date=27 January 2023 |work=[[Brattleboro Reformer]] |location=Brattleboro, VT |page=7 |via=[[Ancestry.com#Newspapers.com|Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref> to a Finnish father, diplomat Olli Vallila, and a mother of Czech descent, Rúzena (Rose) Stepánka.<ref name=”FB” /><ref>{{cite web |title=Marja Vallila – Works |url=https://www.binderprojects.com/marja-vallila-works |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528211407/https://www.binderprojects.com/marja-vallila-works |archive-date=28 May 2019 |access-date=29 May 2019 |website=Binder Projects}}</ref> She later moved to [[Geneva]] ([[Switzerland]]), then [[Finland]], and finally settled in [[Washington DC]] where she learned a fourth language and attended [[Duke Ellington School of the Arts|Western High school, renamed (1974) Duke Ellington School of the Arts]] in the [[Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)|Georgetown]] neighborhood. She pursued her education at [[Cornell University]] (master of fine arts),<ref name=”Exhibits”/><ref>{{cite news |date=9 September 1975 |title=Exhibition in Putney |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117272495/marja-vallila-1950-2018/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20251113-003622/https://www.newspapers.com/article/bennington-banner-marja-vallila-1950-20/117272495/ |archive-date=13 November 2025 |access-date=26 January 2023 |work=[[Bennington Banner]] |location=Bennington, VT |page=8 |via=[[Ancestry.com#Newspapers.com|Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Vallila, Marja (American sculptor, born 1950) |url=https://www.getty.edu/vow/ULANFullDisplay?find=&role=&nation=&subjectid=500060102 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240710183115/https://www.getty.edu/vow/ULANFullDisplay?find=&role=&nation=&subjectid=500060102 |archive-date=10 July 2024 |access-date=12 November 2025 |website=[[Union List of Artist Names]] |publisher=[[Getty Research Institute]]}}</ref> ([[Fulbright Program|Fulbright]] grantee) and participated in exhibitions at the [[Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6KbpAAAAMAAJ&q=Marja+Vallila |title=Handbook of the Collections |publisher=[[Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art]] |year=1981 |pages=106 |language=en |oclc=8899281 |access-date=12 November 2025 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

She found a place in a warehouse in [[SoHo, Manhattan]] that was spacious enough to accommodate both a studio and living space. She then met sculptor James W. Buchman,<ref>SINGER, A. (1985). IN LIVING STEEL AND STONE-THE WORK OF VALLILA, MARJA AND BUCHMAN, JAMES. ARTS MAGAZINE, 59(8), 84–86 [https://scholar.google.fr/scholar?hl=fr&q=James+Buchman+Marja+Vallila&btnG=&lr=]</ref><ref>Google books [https://books.google.com/books?id=BWcWAQAAMAAJ&q=Marja+Vallila Arts Magazine, Volume 59, Issue 7-8, 1985]</ref> whom she married,<ref name=”Exhibits”/> and started teaching as a [[professor]] in the art department at SUNY, [[University at Albany, SUNY|University at Albany]].<ref>Sculptures.org [http://www.sculpture.org/edu_programs/moreImages.php?ID=1000044&TYPE=work International Sculpture Center]</ref><ref name=”albany”>{{cite web|url=http://www.albany.edu/museum/wwwmuseum/faculty97/installation_mv.html |title=Marja Vallila – Installation &#124 Essay by Dan Cameron, Senior Curator at The New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City; Albany.edu Museum |publisher=albany.edu|accessdate=2015-09-26}}</ref><ref>[http://www.davidstelle.net/biography.html David Stelle biography]</ref>

She found a place in a warehouse in [[SoHo, Manhattan]] that was spacious enough to accommodate both a studio and living space. She then met sculptor James W. Buchman,<ref> 1985 , – </ref><ref>Google books [https://books.google.com/books?id=BWcWAQAAMAAJ&q=Marja+Vallila Arts Magazine, Volume 59, Issue 7-8, 1985]</ref> whom she married,<ref name=”Exhibits”/> and started teaching as a [[professor]] in the art department at SUNY, [[University at Albany, SUNY|University at Albany]].<ref>Sculptures.org [http://www.sculpture.org/edu_programs/moreImages.php?ID=1000044&TYPE=work International Sculpture Center]</ref><ref name=”albany”>{{cite web|url=http://www.albany.edu/museum/wwwmuseum/faculty97/installation_mv.html |title=Marja Vallila – Installation &#124 Essay by Dan Cameron, Senior Curator at The New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City; Albany.edu Museum |publisher=albany.edu|accessdate=2015-09-26}}</ref><ref>[http://www.davidstelle.net/biography.html David Stelle biography]</ref>

In 1992, she spent a year of [[Artist-in-residence|residency]] in France, Centre culturel de la Villedieu.<ref>{{in lang|fr}} Data.Bnf [http://data.bnf.fr/12258722/centre_culturel_de_la_villedieu_yvelines/]</ref>

In 1992, she spent a year of [[Artist-in-residence|residency]] in France, Centre culturel de la Villedieu.<ref>{{in lang|fr}} Data.Bnf [http://data.bnf.fr/12258722/centre_culturel_de_la_villedieu_yvelines/]</ref>

Latest revision as of 01:13, 13 November 2025

American artist (1950–2018)

Marja Vallila

Artist Marja Vallila
Born (1950-10-20)October 20, 1950
Died December 23, 2018(2018-12-23) (aged 68)
Occupation Sculptor

Marja Vallila (October 20, 1950 – December 23, 2018)[1] was an American artist, painter, ceramicist and sculptor.[2][3][4]

Marja Vallila was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia[5] to a Finnish father, diplomat Olli Vallila, and a mother of Czech descent, Rúzena (Rose) Stepánka.[1][6] She later moved to Geneva (Switzerland), then Finland, and finally settled in Washington DC where she learned a fourth language and attended Western High school, renamed (1974) Duke Ellington School of the Arts in the Georgetown neighborhood. She pursued her education at Cornell University (master of fine arts),[5][7][8] (Fulbright grantee) and participated in exhibitions at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art.[9]

She found a place in a warehouse in SoHo, Manhattan that was spacious enough to accommodate both a studio and living space. She then met sculptor James W. Buchman,[10][11] whom she married,[5] and started teaching as a professor in the art department at SUNY, University at Albany.[12][13][14]

In 1992, she spent a year of residency in France, Centre culturel de la Villedieu.[15]

Her early researches often led to large outdoors architectonic sculptures made of steel, sometimes with the addition of granite, cement or wood.[16] She then went through a period of small-scale metal sculptures, already incorporating objects of daily life in her carving and casting processes, paradoxically resulting in a precious like object.[17] It is only after a visit to Deruta, Italy that she started exploring again, in a unique way, combining trivial objects, the many possibilities of slip-cast ceramics, a medium often used in decorative arts but seldom attached to High Art. Art critics spoke about these overlapping, textured, dynamic, three dimensional collages that offer “final forms […] almost amphibian-looking biomorphic creations that “verge on the vessel yet avoid a central, open void” : (John Perreault). Polychromatic with layered transparencies, “the exuberant yet intricate looping shapes merge back again into an indescribable whole” : (Milan Hlaveš).[18][19][20]

As her health deteriorated, she moved to Memphis, Tennessee where, though locked in silence, she continued to work on paintings and ceramics.[21][22]

Marja Vallila deeded her parents’ estate (spared during postwar and Soviet times thanks to the presence of a Finnish flag in the window and diplomatic plaque on the building) in Červený Újezd, near Prague to be used by the community as a special education center.[23]

  • Zabriskie Gallery (1977), solo.
  • Newark Museum (1979), solo, (1991), “Book Series”, sculpture.
  • Springfield Museum (1979), solo.
  • Seoul Arts Center (2001), solo.
  • U Prestenu Gallery (2001), solo.
  • Nancy Margolis Gallery (2000), solo.
  • Chodovska Tvrz, Czech Republic, (2003) solo.

Her work was included in the show “Study in Materials” at Storm King Art Center in 1978 along with Nevelson, Smith, Lassaw, Calder, Hesse and Saul Baizerman as well as in the show “The Box: From Duchamp to Horn” in 1994 at Ubu Gallery.[24]
Her digital films, about the elements in her sculptures and their associations, have been screened at Millenium (2003/2004), Two Boots Pioneer Theater (2003/2004), and Zabriskie Gallery (2002).[18][25][26]

Permanent collections

[edit]

  1. ^ a b Carbone, David (24 January 2019). “UAlbany Dept. of Art & Art History, SUNY”. The Department of Art and Art History at the University at Albany. Archived from the original on 5 November 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2019 – via Facebook.
  2. ^ “Marja Vallila”. Clara database. National Museum of Women in the Arts. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018.
  3. ^ Brenson, Michael (30 June 1989). “Review/Art; ‘Sculpture by Painters’ at the Pace”. The New York Times. pp. C.21. ProQuest 427228256. Archived from the original on 5 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  4. ^ “Art & Artists Files: Marja Vallila”. Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. Archived from the original on 30 March 2025. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  5. ^ a b c “Marja Vallila Exhibits Metal Works”. Brattleboro Reformer. Brattleboro, VT. 14 February 1979. p. 7. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ “Marja Vallila – Works”. Binder Projects. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  7. ^ “Exhibition in Putney”. Bennington Banner. Bennington, VT. 9 September 1975. p. 8. Archived from the original on 13 November 2025. Retrieved 26 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ “Vallila, Marja (American sculptor, born 1950)”. Union List of Artist Names. Getty Research Institute. Archived from the original on 10 July 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  9. ^ Handbook of the Collections. Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. 1981. p. 106. OCLC 8899281. Retrieved 12 November 2025 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ Singer, Alan (1985). “In living steel and stone: the work of Marja Vallila and James Buchman”. Arts Magazine: 84–86. Abstract: On the abstract sculptures, 1970s-1980s, of two American artists who are also a married couple
  11. ^ Google books Arts Magazine, Volume 59, Issue 7-8, 1985
  12. ^ Sculptures.org International Sculpture Center
  13. ^ “Marja Vallila – Installation &#124 Essay by Dan Cameron, Senior Curator at The New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City; Albany.edu Museum”. albany.edu. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
  14. ^ David Stelle biography
  15. ^ (in French) Data.Bnf [1]
  16. ^ Collections Smithsonian institution Gateway (sculpture)
  17. ^ Albany.edu Faculty, Exhibition Essay by Dan Cameron, Senior Curator at The New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City
  18. ^ a b “Zabriskie Gallery | Marja Vallila”. zabriskiegallery.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-27. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
  19. ^ NKC-National Library of the Czech Republic
  20. ^ Google books
  21. ^ “Goober (Artificial Flower) – Reflect N Us”. reflectnus.com. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
  22. ^ “WOMEN TOUCH: CERAMICS | LOVEED FINE ARTS AT A.I.R. GALLERY”. loveedfinearts.com. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
  23. ^ (in Czech) ceskatelevize.cz [2]
  24. ^ Ubugallery.com The box
  25. ^ “Marja Vallila on artnet”. artnet.com. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
  26. ^ “Artadoo – Artist: Marja Vallila”. artadoo.com. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
  27. ^ Burnaway, The Voice of Art in the South, “Never Too Late: Marja Vallila Late Works at Tops Gallery, Memphis” by Elaine Slayton Akin / November 2, 2017
  28. ^ Downtown Syracuse.com Public art
  29. ^ Virtual globetrotting. com Gateway
  30. ^ Keramiko.cz Permanent exhibition
  31. ^ Collections.si

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