Jaakko Pennanen
About the Artist
Jaakko Pennanen (b. 1983, Helsinki) paints with an expressive and adventurous touch. His work often evolves around the human figure, but this only serves as a point of departure for painterly journeys exploring the human condition. The collisions of different techniques and iconographies create tensions and raise questions: who are we and how do we see ourselves in this time?
Exhibitions
BFA Exhibition 2025
12 September – 5 November 2025
Kuva/Tila
About the artwork
“Hand, Eye, Gaze, Stair, Footstep, Body, Plant, Animal, Human. The Primordial Image.”
My series of works consists of four paintings of varying sizes, which are based on intuitive drawings. The reduced motifs create bridges between the physical and spiritual, as well as the personal and collective. The works reflect archetypal imagery in the present moment.
The paintings use oil, spray paint, and tempera. I am drawn to the friction and tension between these techniques. The sensitivity of tempera fascinates me, while the haze of spray paint represents a kind of space of formation. Line, movement, and rhythm are important means of expression for me. I want the painting process to be visible on the canvas, as it reveals something vulnerable about myself and about being human. I want the seeking to show.