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

Explore: Lokal Creators

Lokal Creators / Fanny Tavastila

Fanny Tavastila is a painter who lives and works in Helsinki. We visited her studio at the Cable Factory one dark November afternoon to get a closer look at her works, which posess an innate and lyrical sense of colour, rhythm, texture and composition.

Lokal Creators / Hanni Koroma

Hanni Koroma is an award-winning Finnish interior architect and furniture designer. In her work, Koroma combines functionality and aesthetics into timeless entities where her philosophic values in sustainable and playful design meet. Koroma says that space is like a poem that evolves constantly. Her new Lohkoja cabinets are centrepieces of our summer exhibition Butterflies & Seeds. 

Lokal Creators / Minna Arponen

Minna Arponen is a jewellery designer and maker from Helsinki. Recently, she’s been fascinated by the tiny glass beads that she used to play with in her childhood. We visited her studio where most of her pieces take form, if not in her lap on tram rides through the city.

Lokal Creators / Pan Jianfeng

Pan Jianfeng is a conceptual artist working predominately with paper and ink. His background and techniques are rooted in tradition, but his works are strong and contemporary. We visited his home studio one early spring afternoon to learn more about his works in our Year of the Rabbit exhibition.

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