Päivi Takala, FI

With a critical yet gentle eye and soft brushstrokes, Päivi Takala observes and contemplates the human way of being with other living things.

Her paintings poses a question: how can one portray both the human tendency to dominate and exploit natural beings, and the eternal longing to be touched by nature? The pale, faded palette of the paintings is a nod to the early Renaissance frescoes, to which Takala time after time returns.

Päivi Takala (b. 1970) lives and works in Helsinki. She studied painting at the Berlin University of the Arts 1994–1998 and art education at the University of Art and Design Helsinki 1990–1996. She has work in major Finnish and international collections, including the HAM Helsinki Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, and the Malmö Art Museum collections. In addition to her creative work, Takala has taught painting at the Academy of Fine Arts since 2014.