Henri Tuominen
Snags
24 July–17 August 2025
The theme of the works in my last three solo exhibitions has been the trees and bushes in the yard of my late parents’ house. In the paintings on display at Galleria Huuto, I have moved from the yard into a suburban forest, exploring its trees, thickets and snags. In a suburban forest and the backyard of a row house, I am fascinated by the liminality of the areas. They both exist between nature and culture, public and private space. Some of the paintings may conjure up images of an undisturbed wilderness. This is, however, just an illusion.
In the oil paintings, I explore the unconscious through snags, forest stands, thickets, animal figures and mirage-like buildings. The unconscious is something fundamentally and universally connected to art, but not directly visible in a work. It can trigger bodily sensations, enchantment, and the resurfacing of early memories. I want to create my works so that the paintings do not immediately reveal themselves to the viewer, and I want there to be something strange, mysterious and ambivalent in my works.
In my oil paintings, I depict both an external landscape and a bodily, internal space at the same time. I want to let the strange and the unconscious emerge.
Henri Tuominen
I have a Master of Fine Arts degree from Uniarts Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts and a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the Turku Arts Academy. My studies focused on painting. I have had juried solo exhibitions in Helsinki, Espoo, Turku and Rovaniemi. I have also participated in numerous curated and juried group exhibitions, including the 2021 Nastola summer exhibition curated by gallery owner Veikko Halmetoja. In 2022, I was selected as the Artist of the Year of the Turku Artists’ Association by author and visual artist Heikki Kännö. I am currently working in the Aboa Vetus Ars Nova Museum’s artist residence. In addition, I have taught painting and drawing at the Turku Arts Academy, Finnish Adult Education Center of Turku, and Kaarina Adult Education Center.
Thank you
Aboa Vetus Ars Nova Museum’s artist-in-residence program
Contact information
https://henrituominen.com/
https://kuvataiteilijamatrikkeli.fi/taiteilija/tuominen-henri
https://www.instagram.com/henri.johannes/
