TUULA ANTTONEN

Tuula Anttonen is known for her paintings representing human figures. The influence of the French art conception is visible in them. There are human figures either alone or in contact with each other in these works. With the presented situations, Anttonen explores essential human questions like loneliness, the need for connection, and conflicts.

Anttonen does not work from visual perception but is guided by the images inside her head. Dismantling, analyzing, and reconstructing the components of painting is typical for her - this creates a clearly constructive language of paint, which separates by definition figurative works from naturalistic representation.

Physicality is at the center, both in the subjects of Anttonen's paintings and in the way she uses paint. Everything culminates in the human body, which is usually just an upper body and often headless. The body, a corporeal entity occupying concrete space, acts as a stage for mental events and human emotions.

Tuula Anttonen studied in Helsinki at the University of Industrial Arts from 1990 to 1997 and in France, at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Bourges from 1992 to 1997.

After graduating, she has held 19 solo exhibitions and participated in 26 group exhibitions both in Finland and abroad.

In addition to private collections, Anttonen's works can be found e.g. in the collections of the State of Finland, the Finnish Art Association, and the Helsinki Art Museum HAM.

Anttonen has worked in residencies in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and the USA.

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Torso Liberation Movement
Otso Kantokorpi

Spirit and body
Pessi Rautio

Paintings on the difficulty of touching an Other
Harri Mäcklin