Kicker

Risto Lehtinen is a painter who lives and works in Helsinki.

Artist Statement | Risto Lehtinen

“The places depicted in my paintings have mostly been chosen spontaneously, in the moment. I may have been doing something entirely unrelated to art when I noticed a particular light or atmosphere that spoke to me and made me feel that it should become a painting. Later, when looking at the photograph, I often wonder what it was that originally moved me, as it is no longer visible in the image. The moment has already passed, but through painting, I try to find my way back to it.

“In painting, I am particularly fascinated by colour and the process of making paint. At times, I have become so deeply absorbed in it that the act of painting itself has seemed almost secondary.”