Born in Helsinki 1982 | Lives and works in Helsinki

 

Leena Nio is known for her ability to play with perspective and challenge traditional ways of viewing. For Nio the oil painting on canvas provides a medium that makes visible those phenomena lying outside ordinary logic. She is interested in examining landscapes and situations as they occur to viewers, as opposed to in strictly realistic terms. In changing the way of viewing, new possibilities for interpretations are available to observers. Nio´s play with perspective is based specifically on people´s ability to create a variety of observations.

 

In Nio´s expression, something immaterial usually becomes something concrete and solid –shadows, reflections, or holes, for example. Her works challenge the conventional notion of painting and they play between surface and depth. For this effect Nio uses the structure of paint; she changes the thickness of the paint, emphasizing the feeling of lightness or distorting the impression of depth. The dialogue between convergence and alienation is also seen in her topics. She paints alternative elements, e.g. cages, trellises, or glass that distance the viewer from the artwork.

 

Earning her Master’s in Visual Arts from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 2010, Nio was awarded the prestigious Ducat Prize by the Finnish Art Society in the same year. In 2014, Nio was named an Ars Fennica candidate, and she represented Finland at the ARCOmadrid Art Fair in Spain. Her works are included in a number of Finland's most important public art collections, such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Sara Hildén Art Museum, and the Saastamoinen Foundation collections. 

 

Galerie Forsblom has been representing Leena Nio since 2011.