Anu Eskelin is a visual artist working currently from Vantaa, Finland. Her main means of expression are painting and photography, but she has also experimented with aquarelles, drawings and mixed techniques. Her works have been exhibited in various art galleries across Finland, as well as Hungary, Austria and Japan.
Anu is coming to Tartu through a collaboration between Vantaa Artist’s Union and the Tartu Artist in Residence programme, giving one Finnish artist the opportunity to work for a month in Tartu, while one Estonian artist can do the same in Vantaa.
Anu Eskelin will be in Tartu for her residency during the month of May 2016.
Artist Statement
Above all, I am a painter. I love colors and I show it very clearly especially in my paintings. I think there is always something missing if I don’t add strong, intense colors to my works. It is strange, although I like a lot of other artists making their paintings sensitive.
My very dear friend from Germany said once, when she looked at my abstract paintings, that the philosopher and poet Novalis and his fragment Heinrich von Ofterdingen came to her mind, where Heinrich is looking for the blue flower. I bought and read that book and I noticed that Novalis described the landscapes just the way as I see them in my own paintings. That was amazing, the dream comes true and the truth becomes dream.
My inspiration comes from nature. Lately I have spent a lot of time in Italy. The light there is so wonderful. I also love old ruins, small mountain villages, hill towns, forests, rivers and so on. In Italy I can find them all and they come from my subconsciousness when I am painting back at home.
I photograph a lot, photographing is my hobby. I walk in nature and I’m looking for birds and natural awakenings. Spring is a great time to do it.
In Tartu and its surroundings, I would like to photograph as much as possible. I collect memories with my camera. I also would like to do some small stuff there, not paintings, but drawings and collages, for example. It’s has been a while since I have made collages, now I look forward to do them in Tartu.
Previous Works
Paintings
“My abstract, layered paintings come into being as the colors racket on the canvas. The artwork is ready when they converse and take up a position of my choosing. My inspiration orginates mostly from the beautiful and versatile nature of Italy. As materials I use mainly oil and acrylic paints.”
A New Day, acrylic on canvas 2016, 89x116cm
The evening is the sanctuary of sorrow, acrylic on canvas, 2014, 89x116cm
Signs of light, acrylic on canvas, 2015, 89x116cm
Photographs
“Photographing nature, its tiny miracles and wider entities, is a hobby of mine. I adore old houses, ruins, pittoresque doors and windows. From behind my camera I observe the life of villages and big cities alike. In this section I share glimpses of the world I see through my viewfinder.”
In the river 2016
Vuokot / Anemones
More about Anu Eskelin: http://www.anueskelin.com/