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Riitta Nelimarkka

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Professor Riitta Nelimarkka’s multifacetedness makes her one of the most exciting Finnish visual artists. Her art is characterized by a fearless use of colour and form, as well as virtuoso drawing skills and using music in her art.

She has studied painting in Paris, animation and photography in Stockholm, art history and music theory at the Helsinki University and piano performance at the Sibelius Academy. Nelimarkka holds a doctorate degree in the arts (AALTO University Helsinki, 2001). She has received the honorary title professor from the president of Finland 2008. She has held several positions of trust a.o. been the chairman of Nelimarkka-Foundation since 1987.

During years Riitta Nelimarkka has written 20 books: art books, children's books, poetry, made several films, f.i. the first feature animation of Finland Seven Brothers, has had major exhibitions at venues including Amos Anderson Art Museum, Helsinki; Kunsthalle Helsinki; Wäinö Aaltonen museum, Turku ,Hallwyl Museum, Stockholm; Museo de la Nacion, Lima, the Russian Academy of Arts’ Tsereteli Art Gallery, Moscow, EXPO 2000 in Hannover; FIDM Museum, Los Angeles, La Maison de l´Amerique de Monaco and Maison de l’Europe, Paris. Bonga Castle, an aristocratic building that she has renovated with her husband, Jaakko Seeck, in Loviisa, near Helsinki also houses a permanent exhibition of some three hundred works.

Nelimarkka has received numerous awards and prizes at international biennales and film festivals. In 2016 she was awarded by the Order of France with the distinction of Officier des Arts et Lettres.

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Eleanor McKnight

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Born in Ireland, Eleanor McKnight is a self-taught artist. She returned to painting a few years ago and "it has been such a joy to see my work hanging on walls all over the world."

McKnight has featured in Conde Nast's "Vogue" and "House & Garden" magazines, had gallery representation and has shown in many art fairs and exhibits in London, New York and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

"My permanent home is the Turks and Caicos Islands, capturing the beauty of ocean colour and bringing it to the demure and earthy colours of Europe. I love to play around with various shades of blue gathering inspiration from the wealth of wonder our planet offers."

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Hege Ullensvang

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“I call myself an artist now, but it took years to acknowledge myself as one. Maybe because “well-meaning” teachers told me that I would be better off with a traditional academic education... that going down the artistic path was somewhat only for the few and talented. I believed them, and ended up with a Bachelor's degree in Art & Crafts Education and not as a performing visual artist. However, my skills, confidence and desire to create art grew, and even though I couldn’t call myself a "real artist" I continued creating.

I was born in Bergen, Norway, in 1972. In 1993, I left for the University of South-Eastern Norway where I completed the Bachelor's Degree in Teacher Education in Design, Arts and Crafts. I returned to Bergen and attended a yearlong study of Art history at the University of Bergen before I started teaching arts and crafts in high school. Due to health issues, I stopped teaching, and in 1999, I decided to go to India for the first of four times and spent most of my time in a meditation and creativity resort in Pune. I came to know people from all over the world and had many different social, creative and “spiritual” experiences. Among other things, I learned the art of creating mandalas and worked as an artist and teacher in a Mandala Painting Studio. Back in Norway, I painted mandalas, but I also created other things, paintings on canvas and different fiber craft works among others. I enjoyed my creative work, but I was on my own and didn’t come out with my work almost at all.

In 2015, that changed when I became part of a shared art studio with several other artists and that was quite an energy boost for my artistry. I slowly came to look at myself as an artist, and along with that came also a greater self-trust and an eagerness for creating more ... Now I have my own little studio where I happily create my pieces of visual art.”

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Kathy Loev Putnam

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What themes does your work involve?

My subjects exist in a state of fantasy, inhabiting their own imagined worlds. They are strong, curious, independent, sometimes vulnerable, always brave. Not yet hindered by the restrictions and expectations of their adult futures, they occupy dreamlike spaces, with allusions to fairy tales, enchantment, refuge and threat.

Describe your creative process.

Each painting is a process of trial and error. I usually begin with an image in mind of a child with a specific purpose – hula hooping, inspecting some treasure held between little fingers, or playing dress up. I then attempt to locate or reveal what my subject might be feeling. I use printmaking, paint, and anything else at hand, to create layers. I try something, and if it does not work, I remove it (often after the glue has dried!) or cover it up. Sometimes it feels like I take more off of a surface than I add. The residue left by something removed is often the most interesting thing to work with. I can’t anticipate it, I can only have faith that each move is building toward something. It’s not unusual for me to get resolution by eliminating the very thing I was holding onto the most.

What influences your work? What inspires you? Why do you make art?

I love all forms of art, but in my own work, I am drawn toward the human figure. I get most excited when I can distort or abstract a figure without losing the individual expressiveness of the subject. I am constantly inspired by other artists who make paintings where various materials coexist in a way that is difficult to differentiate one from another. In graduate school, I discovered that I can make a painting of anything, from anything – that there are no rules. Being an artist is a second career for me, and I know that making good work is cumulative. It comes from work and more work – there are no shortcuts. I am learning every day, and I love that I don’t know what my work will look like in five or ten years.

What is good art? What makes a piece of art great?

Wow – that is a hard question. I think something is good when it surprises me – when I see something unexpected that is inventive and thoughtful. Craft is important to me, and the level of care an artist brings to their use of materials definitely influences how I experience it. What I consider really great art is something that just stops me in my tracks, that I can’t stop looking at and thinking about – it’s both a physical and emotional reaction. When that happens, it sends me back to work!

What is the role of the artist today?

I think the role of an artist today is the same as it has been throughout time. Art provokes thought, discussion and enlightenment. Artists can bridge divides and educate through emotional connections rather than by direct confrontation. That is not to say that art shouldn’t be confrontational; sometimes that is the point of what an artist is trying to achieve – to force an undeniable reckoning about a specific issue. Either way, we are uniquely able to create emotional engagement between people and ideas.

Chris Klein

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What themes does your work involve?

My paintings try to pay tribute to many fields of art. The designer is at the heart, the creator who imagined the garments. But I also want to bring theatre into people’s homes. Shakespeare, Moliere or perhaps a musical or dance. They can remind people of a specific show they love, or a particular character. My subject attracts me in different ways too. I paint sometimes because I love a show, or a particular designer, or I love the textures of the materials themselves, challenging me in different ways as to how to paint them.

Describe your creative process.

I often simply fall in love with the costumes, or a designer’s work, or a show, and then seek to paint them. I would seek permission first. It’s important as this is another artist’s work and someone always own the copyright. I then need to take photographs, so I can stage the garments as I want to paint them. I then study the shadows, the light, sometimes I rearrange them in Photoshop and adjust the folds and shadows a little more. When I have a final image, I will go to work painting. I used to grid and draw traditionally, but now I project, it save lots of time initially. I prefer acrylics, although I’ve painted with oils. I use lots of glazes and slowly build up the image. This can give the “feel” and richness of an oil painting.

What influences your work? What inspires you? Why do you make art?

I’ve always wanted to be an artist. It sounds clichéd but it’s true. I use to love drawing when I was very young. My family are all artistic and my brothers and sister helped me with tips and tricks. So for me, I’m inspired with everything I see. I loved to paint nature, but moved on to racing cars, motorcycles, clouds, and eventually, to costumes!

What is good art? What makes a piece of art great?

Yes, it is difficult, Lol! But I think great art could encompass many traditions. It doesn’t have to be a realistic depiction of anything. This is just a measure of a person’s skills but there doesn’t have to be emotion in it. But I can’t help being stunned by a Caravaggio or a Rembrandt.

The best artworks should generate emotion in the viewer. That’s why I love some of the work of Damien Hirst, or Marcel Duchamp, they certainly get people emotional! But art doesn’t have to shock, some conceptual artworks can bring people to tears, sadness or joy. Some political pieces by Ai Weiwei or Kara Walker are very powerful.

What is the role of the artist today?

I think art plays many, many roles. Art has always been political and a driver of change. I think that’s great. Many people risk their lives for their art, and some die. So art is a very powerful medium. Many people think art should just fill a hole on the wall and make a home pretty. We need art like that too, but we can never take art for granted. I like art that makes a statement, but I paint more for pleasure, and sometimes it brings joy to others. I don’t think my art gets people angry. There’s a place for all kinds of art in the world.