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Areas of expertise
Biography
I am Professor of Art History at the University of Turku since 2017, with permanent appointment to the chair since 1 January 2019.
During the years 2021–2024 I am also in charge of the Degree Programme in Media Studies, Musicology and Art History, and during the autumn term 2024 I act as the Director of the Doctoral Programme in History, Culture and Arts Studies (Juno).
After receiving my PhD in Art History in 2004, I worked at the University of Turku as Professor of Women’s Studies (fixed term), Professor of Art History (fixed term), Academy of Finland Postdoctoral Researcher and Academy Research Fellow, and Senior Lecturer in Art History. I have also worked as a fixed-term Senior Lecturer in Gender Studies and in Art History at the University of Helsinki. I was granted the title of Docent (Adjunct Professor) at the University of Turku in 2006 and at the Åbo Akademi University in 2016.
During my Academy Researcher’s term I held visiting research fellowships at the Humboldt University of Berlin (2011–2012), Kingston University, London (2013), University of Hamburg (2014), and Umeå University (2014).
Teaching
I lead the MA Seminars (I and II) and the Research Seminar in Art History, as well as supervise master's theses and doctoral dissertations. I guide the MA students in their personal curriculum planning and function as the professor in charge of doctoral studies in Art History.
I furthermore teach theories and methodologies of Art History on various BA and MA level courses.
Research
My research has focused on art in Finland in the 19th and 20th century, ranging in particular from the Naturalism of the 1880s to the High Modernism of the 1950s, and highlighting a Scandinavian and continental context. I have published two monographs on portraiture (2004; 2007) and chapters on modern figurative art and the history of portrait photography, i.e. genres and artistic phenomena with a broader appeal beyond the art field. The emphasis on ”alternative” or ”vernacular” modernisms interlinks with my long-term interest in feminist art history and the social significance of art. My contributions to this area of expertise include a monograph on the Finnish painter Ester Helenius (2016) and a set of articles on early 19th century female artists.