Elina Försti

Elina Försti (born in 1971 in Evijärvi) is a painter who lives and works in Alajärvi. Försti graduated from the Free Art School in Helsinki in 2000 with a degree in painting. Her artwork has been on display in various exhibitions in Finland and in other countries since 1998. Some of Försti’s artwork can be found in the following art collections: The Finnish State art deposit collection, Paulo Foundation’s art collection, Nelimarkka museum, the art collections of the cities of Alajärvi, Kannus, Seinäjoki and Vaasa and the HUS municipal merger area. 

In her paintings, Försti explores light, colour and space while focusing on Southern Ostrobothnian barns and other local buildings and sceneries that she finds interesting. Försti is particularly interested in the possibilities that oil paint provides as a painting material. Försti is an artist who is committed to certain locations, and she gets her inspiration for her art from the area where she lives. Her paintings tell a story of the passing of time, run-down buildings, and the disappearances and changes that occur around us in our everyday life. 

Over the past few years, Försti has spent short periods of time at various symposiums, and she has visited residences in Finland and abroad. Försti works periodically in unfamiliar places while focusing on one or two topics at a time and she conducts numerous colour experiments at different times of day. Eventually, these drafts that she has created at the symposiums and the residences become the topics of her paintings.

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