Santeri Lehto

Santeri Lehto (b. 1982, Lappeenranta, Finland) uses a unique minimalism and analytical naivety as his stylistic tools. At first the viewer notices the child-like visual simplicity of his paintings, but immersion in the symbols in the works reveals their different, almost paradoxical nature. His works are at once both direct and delicate, as subtle as poems, improvised pieces of music, or randomly doodled drawings. His paintings often present simple forms that refer to everyday life. The surface-level simplicity of the works reflects the mystery of everyday life and existence. Perhaps the important thing in Lehto's works is not what one sees, but what one often does not see. 

Santeri Lehto graduated as a visual artist from the Art Institute of Lahti University of Applied Sciences in 2013 and as a puppet designer from the Petäjävesi School of Arts and Crafts in 2005. He lives and works in Helsinki. He has had several solo and group exhibitions in Finland and abroad, most recently at Galleria Huuto in Helsinki in 2023, Alzueta Gallery in Barcelona and Galleria Snow in Berlin in 2022, and at tm-galleria in Helsinki in 2019. He participated in the Young Artists Exhibition at Kunsthalle Helsinki in 2011. Lehto's works are in numerous private collections.