Sag Harbor Express Interviews Virva Hinnemo

By Annette Hinkle

Virva Hinnemo (b. 1976), an artist  in the Parrish exhibition “Affinities for Abstraction,” was born in Finland and now lives and works in Springs.

Q: As a female Abstract painter, did you face hurdles in what was initially a very male-dominated field?

I think this is a difficult question to answer. Yes, in some ways, the issue of being a woman painter has always been “there” for me. In school, the boys/men muscled their way. Many women students found a way to turn their womanhood into their artistic subject. I never wanted to hit the viewer over the head with that kind of a subject. I ask a lot from those who look at my work. My husband would call it “the long, slow look.”

I was always aware that I had stepped into a male-dominated world, and as a very young painter, I was conscious of not wanting to “paint like a girl.” A young painter does think some silly things: “Why can’t I paint like Guston? I don’t want my work to be pretty.”

Read the full interview on AnitaRogersGallery.com