Leena Ristolainen:
In a Blackbird's Heartbeat

"I live in East Helsinki where one cannot avoid observing the life of blackbirds. They seem to have
adapted perfectly to their environment, regardless of human activities. It is a joyous feeling when
you manage to see a blackbird flying suddenly from one place to another and neither of you are
disturbing each other. I feel a similar joy when observing other natural phenomena. Light and
shadow are changing with the seasons and the wind defines the soundscape around us. We are at
our best and freest when in harmony with nature."

Leena Ristolainen is known for her abstract paintings. Ristolainen has had solo exhibitions and
participated in several group exhibitions since 2015.

"Sometimes a career opens up as fast as a highway. In my case, my studies to become a visual
artist have been a winding path, which started at a young age at a “Folkehöjskole” in Denmark and
will hopefully continue throughout my life. I am grateful to all educational institutions, teachers
and colleagues from whom I have gained knowledge and skills for making pictures and above all to
the people who have found some meaning in my works. They are the heart of my painting. From
human to human...about freedom.  

I paint by combining four old techniques in the same work; ink, tempera, oil and oil pastel. The
multi-layered nature of the technique requires time and patience. It makes work challenging but
also extremely interesting. I constantly have to think about how I can combine the planning
required by the techniques with the immediacy required by my expression in the abstract reality.
Painting means spiritual freedom for me. I hope that people looking my paintings will also find a
small moment of freedom."