Hannu Väisänen b. 1951

Born in Oulu, Finland  | Lives and works in Souillac, France.

Hannu Väisänen is known for his aesthetic eye, for his sensitivity to color, and for his experimentation with different surface structures. He typically works serially, exploring one theme in depth until it finally leads him to a new source of inspiration. He tends to construct arrangements from everyday objects, which he records by camera. These photos’ noteworthy features are then transposed onto his painted canvas.

Väisänen moves smoothly between artistic fields as a visual artist, writer, set designer, costume designer, textile designer, director, illustrator, and curator. Väisänen graduated from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts, and his debut solo exhibition as a graphic occurred in 1980. Väisänen's works can be found in collections in several Finnish art museums, and he has also done public works for the cities of Oulu and Helsinki. Väisänen’s illustrated Kalevala was published in 1999 and he received the Finlandia Prize for literature in 2007 for Other Shoes. 

Galerie Forsblom has been representing Hannu Väisänen since 2013.