Sonja Vectomov (sculptor)

Sonja Vectomov (born 8 June 1957) is a Czech-Finnish sculptor based in Jyväskylä, Finland, known for her bronze statues of Finnish cultural figures.[1]

Sonja Vectomov
Vectomov in Jyväskylä, 1990
Born	Soňa Vižďová (1957-06-08) 8 June 1957 Hradec Králové, Czechoslovakia
Occupation(s)	sculptor, pedagogue
Years active	1977–present
Spouse	Vladimír Večtomov (m. 1979–1998)
Children	Sonja

In 2010 Vectomov produced a remarkable statue of early 20th century architect and feminist Wivi Lönn,[2] who designed influential buildings in Jyväskylä during the early 1900s. The work was unveiled at the center of a private park facing Lönn's erstwhile mansion,[1][3] the outline of which appears on the base of its pedestal (a reference to Lönn's use of the same outline on the frontispiece of a doghouse she had designed).[3] Moreover, a number of Vectomov's other sculptures are displayed in the public gardens of the Lönn property under the curation of its present owner, Kauko Sorjonen.[4]

In 2015, in observation of painter Reidar Särestöniemi's 90th birthday and concomitantly in honor of the Reidar Särestöniemi Museum's 30th anniversary, Vectomov produced a statue of the painter for the museum.[5][6]

Regarding her chosen medium Vectomov has said, "Bronze is the most precious material on Earth. It is uniquely warm, it may be smooth or rough, and it is dynamic—it is capable of expressing many different things." The subject closest to her heart is "the human form and its many positions, which express a universe of emotions." To each of her works, Vectomov devotes more than 500 hours and 400 pounds of melted bronze. She does not eschew marble but rather accessorises it into bronze works.[1]

Vectomov is a pedagogue at Jyväskylä City Art School. She has said that, as a sculptor, nature is her primary source of inspiration.[1] In 2017 she spoke with Finnish newspaper Keskisuomalainen:

My current work deals with the relationships between oneself, others and one's surrounding environment. During the creative process I try to give my work absolute attention and focus and seek to communicate with my hands the importance of being present—not in the past, nor in the future, but in the here and now.[7]

In 2020, Vectomov unveiled a bronze wildlife sculpture[8] and exhibited a series of large-scale papier-mâché depictions of the SARS-CoV-2 virus interacting with the classical four elements.[9]