Biography

Marika Lahdenperä (1998) lives and works in Tampere, Finland. She graduated as a painter from the Free Art School in Helsinki in 2021. Marika’s upcoming exhibitions in 2022 include: Galleria Rajatila in Tampere, B-galleria in Turku and Snow, Berlin.

“My paintings portrait myself. I find that I can express who I am as a human and an artist most, when the act of painting extends my everyday life experience. The versatility of watercolours has opened my way to expressing with emotion. Fragility and sensitivity is present in all my paintings, but my style is bold and experimental.

My investigative nature means I will always be interested in new challenges and questions. How could I paint the skin against skin, the hair on the skin, with rain. As I am following textures, I let myself go completely, and float with emotion and movement. When painting with watercolour, even the smallest movement is meaningful. Still, there is more freedom to move between the artwork and the space around me, sometimes even breaking some rules.

I have noticed many prejudices associated with watercolours, with, for example, the subject, style or approach. Watercolour works are often thought to be mostly delicate landscapes and still lifes. I enjoy stirring up these sluggish assumptions.”