August 23–September 22, 2024

Gender stands front and center in the oeuvre of Jenni Hiltunen. She portrays female figures that mirror her personal experiences and her existence in the body of a girl and woman. Over the years, her personal life has crept into her art to a growing degree, not directly as autobiography or self-portraiture, but through the depiction of her inner reality. Some of the characters in her paintings represent the artist and her friends and loved ones, while others are imaginary or fictive characters, like proposals for possible realities.

Hiltunen’s art is by no means limited solely to dealing with gender themes. Her paintings are always multi-layered receptacles of multiple narratives, and it is ultimately up to the viewer to add the final interpretation. For Hiltunen herself, light and color are just as important as the subject and thematic content. Her brilliant command of color can be regarded as one of her stylistic hallmarks.

The exhibition features works painted on canvas and paper as well as a selection of sculptures. Hiltunen regards herself primarily as a painter, and painting defines her approach to her process. She grew interested in sculpting over a decade ago and feels there are certain affinities between working with clay and the paintbrush, although it has taken her years to recognize this similarity. Hiltunen has been painting on paper for many years. Paper is a medium with special immediacy, and this finds reflection in the vivid style of her works on paper.

Jenni Hiltunen (b. 1981) graduated from the Turku Arts Academy in 2004 and from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 2007. She has held many solo and group exhibitions both in Finland and internationally. Her work is represented in notable Finnish collections, including the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma and the Saastamoinen Foundation Collection.

The exhibition is supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation.