Artists

Aki Turunen

Photo: Camilla Vuorenmaaa

Aki Turunen’s paintings are based on a combination of intuitive, subconscious imagery and knowledge of art history. Turunen’s interest in history and tradition causes the artist to position himself strongly in the continuum both in his choices of materials and the imagery he deals with. By shaping traditional tools to his own use and combining a personal narrative to images drawn from history, Turunen approaches a shared human experience through his paintings. In his work, Turunen strives for openness and permissiveness, which results in the delicate, clear strokes of the finished paintings. The artist, ever curious and reinventing himself from one exhibition to another, has dealt in his work with, for example, signs of spring, jewel-like snakes glimmering in the bottom of a sea, rainbows in the night and prestigious queens shredded to pieces.

Aki Turunen (b. 1983) lives and works in Helsinki. He graduated with an MFA from the Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki, in 2011. Turunen has also studied painting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. His works have been shown in solo and group exhibitions in Finland, e.g. at the Helsinki Contemporary exhibition Gonzaga Yellow, Galleria Forum Box and Kluuvi Gallery, and in Denmark, e.g. at Martin Asbæk Gallery. Turunen also participated in the Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition in 2011. His works are, among others, in the collections of Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, the Saastamoinen Foundation, and the Finnish State Art Commission. In autumn 2021, the Finnish Art Society awarded Turunen a William Thuring designated prize.

Exhibitions

4.3.-27.3.2022
30.10.-22.11.2020
CV

Works