Anna Retulainen

In her working process Anna Retulainen contemplates painting conventions and perceptions of painting. The subjects of her works are merely platforms for the application of paint; for finding a balance between movement, the layers of paint, and the vying between colours. Her paintings consist of details drawn from everyday life, from journeys real and imagined, or from the masterpieces of art history. Her style is expressionistic, and yet refined in a stylized manner. Above all, Retulainen is an exquisite colourist. The themes of her works vary from her beloved vegetable, fruit and flower still lifes, to more intimate drawings of her everyday life and those close to her. For Retulainen drawing is a way of living; it is her way of putting the world in its place. Only at her studio do the drawings become paintings, fusions of life and art.

Anna Retulainen (b. 1969, Orimattila) is one of the leading figures in Finnish contemporary painting. She has been showing works in solo and group exhibitions since 1995. She has twice been nominated for the Carnegie Art Award, most recently in 2014. In 2018, The Finnish Cultural Foundation's (SKR) Uusimaa Regional Fund awarded Retulainen with its annual 15 000 euro award for outstanding performance, and in the same year, Retulainen's paintings became the first contemporary artworks to be permanently presented at the Finnish Presidential Palace. Retulainen’s work is represented in most of the major Finnish public collections, as well as in countless private collections.