Ilkka Saastamoinen

Eeva-Riitta Eerola

In her artistic work, Eeva-Riitta Eerola explores the concept of perception and how we understand and experience images. Abstract and recognizable elements vary in Eerola’s expression, working in series as well as creating subtly defined links between the works are in the core of her practice. Through simplification and by minimizing the visual components in her works, Eerola studies the basic elements of painting, their friction and interaction, as well as the processes of viewing.

The tension between the inner spaces of Eerola’s paintings create powerful depth and movement to the works that communicate strongly with their surrounding space and their viewers. There is a strong sense of presence in the the artist’s works – something you can feel although you might not quite recognise it.

Eerola graduated from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 2010 and has also studied at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-arts de Paris. She has exhibited in several group and solo exhibitions in Finland and abroad. Eerola’s work is represented in a number of Finnish art and museum collections, such as those of the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Sara Hildén Art Museum and Saastamoinen Foundation. Eerola also works with video artist Jenni Toikka as an artist duo. For Eerola and Toikka, the collaboration has opened up new possibilities for experimentation and play, apart from their individual practices. Their latest project was a site-specific exhibition at Maison Louis Carré near Paris in 2019.