Urban Helsinki pulsates in all its nocturnal brilliance in Timo Tolonen’s works in oil: buildings stand dark and brooding like a bodyguard, only in some windows is a dim light visible. Advertising signs, cars’ headlights and asphalt glistening in the rain play the lead role in the vibrant scene. With their dazzling lights petrol stations beckon the speeding chariots of the city streets. Pedestrians making their way in the shadows may well feel like lonely bystanders in this carousel.

In the masterly, almost black and white woodcuts on display in the exhibition there is a vigorous line that works like colour to create an animated atmosphere. The etchings’ colours and lines at times conjure up almost psychedelic landscapes, like something one might imagine having seen after a long night out on the town.

Timo Tolonen (born 1977), a native of Iisalmi, is a graphic artist and painter. Despite his origins, he captures the pulsating life of the capital just as vividly and recognizably as a born-and-bred Helsinki resident.