Kirsi Neuvonen – TUNNEMAAILMA TUNNE ● MAAILMA

Beloved printmaker Kirsi Neuvonen (b. 1960, Keuruu) is widely recognised as a pioneer of Finnish colour printmaking. Her richly coloured works draw extensively on art and cultural history. A major solo exhibition at the Jyväskylä Art Museum offers a rare opportunity to view different periods, themes and techniques from the artist’s extensive career simultaneously.

The exhibition is structured around five thematic sections, each with its own distinct atmosphere. On display are, among other works, early pieces from the 1980s, a forest installation hung at children’s viewing height, the artist’s much-loved dress motifs, and recent monotypes from the past few years.

The exhibition title reflects a personal dimension: each individual’s own emotional world (TUNNEMAAILMA). When separated into two words — TUNNE ● MAAILMA (“emotion ● world”) — the phrase expands into a broader reflection on the surrounding world in which we live.

References to art and cultural history, female figures, fairy-tale-like compositions and playful girlhood motifs form the core of Neuvonen’s oeuvre, which now spans five decades. Her multilayered works also contain humour and narrative elements that invite viewers to extend the stories through their own experiences.

“Art history serves as my primary source of inspiration. I also collect material from fashion, design, architecture and natural history publications. Strong recurring motifs in my work have been trees, dresses and human figures, which are often positioned symmetrically,” the artist explains.

Neuvonen is one of the trailblazers of Finnish colour printmaking. After graduating from the Lahti School of Art, she moved to Jyväskylä in 1984, drawn by the city’s respected printmaking workshop, which attracted printmakers from across Finland. It was in Jyväskylä that she developed a new approach to the use of colour in metal printmaking, opening up entirely new technical possibilities. For this innovative work she received the State Art Prize in 1987 at the age of just 27.

Over the years, many of her works have developed into series shaped by thematic exploration or technical experimentation. These include Luontopolku (“Nature Trail”), which reinterprets classics of Finnish art, and Jumalaisia naisia (“Divine Women”), inspired by goddesses of antiquity. Since 2016, Neuvonen has expanded her practice to include monotypes. In these unique prints she uses water-soluble intaglio inks, finishing the works with pencil and chalk drawing. Dresses reappear in the form of girls who inhabit these images. Playful and perceptive motifs, combined with a strong emotional atmosphere, convey the many nuances of life through the lens of girlhood — themes that are easily relatable to viewers.

Neuvonen is also known as a pioneering cultural entrepreneur. She established her own printmaking studio and studio gallery in Jyväskylä, where she continues to work today. Her works are included in numerous Finnish museum and private collections.

The exhibition has been supported by the Finnish Heritage Agency.