Life is funny

Teija Kosenius is a full-time artist based in Riihimäki, Finland. Her paintings frequently feature children, interiors, and old houses. Kosenius works primarily with acrylics, combining acrylic paint with pastel crayons in some works, while her cityscapes are created using a mix of acrylic, gesso, and acrylic ink.

Her interior paintings often depict celebrations and moments shared with loved ones, reflecting what she considers one of life’s greatest treasures: giving time to one another. Everything is beautifully arranged, and lilacs are always in bloom. These interior scenes are like fairy tales for adults, reminiscent of the gentle and comforting atmosphere of the Moomin world, yet without the Moomin characters themselves. They bring something soft, warm, and hopeful into the world, because people cannot live on hard materials alone.

In her urban landscapes, old houses with slightly crooked walls and tilted window frames remind us of our shared humanity. The city may be large, but we are all small within it, together. Life is never perfect, and that is precisely what makes it beautiful.

Children, especially girls, are a recurring subject in Kosenius’s work. According to the artist, these figures function as self-portraits in a symbolic sense, although they do not physically resemble her. They express something deeply human that can be difficult to describe in words or define as a specific emotion. Kosenius also believes it remains important to highlight the realities girls face in today’s world and to continue working every day toward a society where opportunities and experiences are as positive for girls as they are for boys.