Anna Retulainen

In her working process Anna Retulainen contemplates the conventions and perceptions of painting. The subjects of her works are merely platforms for the application of paint; finding a balance between movement, the layers of paint, and the vying between colours. Retulainen is an exquisite colourist. Her style is expressionistic, and yet refined in a stylized manner. The themes of her works vary from her beloved garden still lifes to more intimate drawings of her everyday life and those close to her. For Retulainen, drawing is a way of living. At her studio, 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 Uusimaa Regional Fund awarded Retulainen with its annual 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. 

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