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Lokal Creators / Matti Pikkujämsä

Matti Pikkujämsä is an esteemed freelance illustrator and artist since, working in the interface of art and illustration, making free paintings and drawings in addition to commissions. Many know him by his weekly illustration in Helsingin Sanomat, and his wooden relief pieces, first exhibited at Lokal in 2015, became an instant crowd favourite. We visited his make-shift studio room in his Helsinki apartment just before we started setting up his solo exhibition Variations (13.1.–11.2.2023). 

Lokal Creators / Matti Pikkujämsä

Matti Pikkujämsä is an esteemed freelance illustrator and artist since, working in the interface of art and illustration, making free paintings and drawings in addition to commissions. Many know him by his weekly illustration in Helsingin Sanomat, and his wooden relief pieces, first exhibited at Lokal in 2015, became an instant crowd favourite. We visited his make-shift studio room in his Helsinki apartment just before we started setting up his solo exhibition Variations (13.1.–11.2.2023).

Lokal: What are some of the daily things that inspire your creative process?

Matti: “Drawing is an everyday practice for me, I always keep a sketchbook with me and close-by and I can write down ideas. I look at a lot of pictures of art and design, that inspires me. I walk a lot, it fuels creativity. Music helps create moods and liven up and it energises. I listen to a lot of music while working. I also read a lot and I notice that it increases my desire to make art.”

L: What kind of a relationship do you have with your pieces; both their subject and their materiality?

M: “Topics may often be secondary. I might have an idea related to the material that I want to try and I think about the topic on its terms. I often make series on the same topic, which allows me to go deeper in both the topic and the method. Drawing is also increasingly interesting the more you do it. Looking and thinking about the image are interesting things, an endless world.”

L: What made you interested in painting and drawing?

M: “I have been drawing and painting since I was little, for as long as I remember. I have noticed that it is the most natural way for me to be, and take my place in the world. Drawing is observation, I am an observer.”

Shop: Matti Pikkujämsä’s Works

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Lokal Creators / Saija Starr

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