Helsinki Contemporary (FI)

Helsinki Contemporary was founded (first as Gallery Kalhama & Piippo Contemporary) in 2007 and has been continuing its successful work as Helsinki Contemporary since 2011. Due to its ambitous program it quickly gained a position as one of the leading galleries in the Nordics. Located in the heart of Helsinki downtown, the gallery works internationally with a strong curatorial emphasis, and it focuses on long-term collaboration with its artists. Helsinki contemporary exhibits distinguished contemporary art by emerging and established artists from Finland and abroad. Spanning all artist media, at the core of the gallery's programme are artists who take an ambitious, in-depth approach to their work.

Bulevardi 10
00120 Helsinki, Finland
(+358) 9 278 5301

info@helsinkicontemporary.com
helsinkicontemporary.com

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Curated for
CHART

For CHART 2025, Helsinki Contemporary will present a curated booth with works by two Finnish artists: Leena Nio and Aki Turunen. Both are rethinking and reimagining traditions and conventions of painting. Leena Nio’s detailed compositions of clothes and people are at the same realistic but also veer into abstraction, reworking conventions of portraiture and the still life. In his work Aki Turunen, combines subconscious imagery with references to art history. His deep knowledge of the tradition of painting is evident in his use of different techniques, such as tempera painting, and his subject matter that reference both mythology and history.

Leena Nio, Composition with a zip-up cardigan and treasured piece, 2025, oil on canvas, 170 x 150 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Helsinki Contemporary. Photo: Jussi Tiainen.

Aki Turunen, Convergence Talks, 2025, tempera on wood, 50 x 40 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Helsinki Contemporary. Photo: Jussi Tiainen.

Aki Turunen (FI)

Aki Turunen’s paintings are based on a combination of intuitive, subconscious imagery and a deep knowledge of art history. Turunen’s interest in tradition causes the artist to position himself strongly in the continuum both in his choices of materials and the imagery he deals with. The recurring figures in his paintings are both symbolic and mythological. Turunen has dealt in his work with, for example, enigmatic dragons, volcanoes, butterflies, mysterious moonlight and floral motifs. In his work, he strives for openness and permissiveness, which results in the delicate, clear strokes of the finished paintings.

Aki Turunen (b. 1983, Helsinki, FI) lives and works in Helsinki. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki. Recent exhibitions include: SCHWARZ CONTEMPORARY, Berlin and Alice Folker, Copenhagen. His works are included in collections including the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma and the Finnish State Art Commission.