Eemil Karila b. 1978

Biography

Eemil Karila (b. 1978) is a Finnish painter whose works evoke emotional landscapes breathing in tune with nature’s rhythms. Fusing expressionism and abstraction, his paintings explore the interplay of memory, personal history, and ecological identity, often drawing inspiration from ancestral lands and untouched wilderness.

 

Karila’s painterly approach is deeply corporeal and poetic, with layers of color and texture that recall the sensory experiences of sunlit meadows and mossy forests. Influenced by the sensibility of poetry, his art embraces a philosophy of empathy toward the natural world, encouraging a shift from hedonism to a deeper, nature-connected happiness.

 

Over a career spanning more than two decades, Karila has exhibited widely in Europe and the Americas, and his works are held in major public and private collections, including the Rovaniemi and Tampere Art Museums and the Antti and Jenny Wihuri Foundation. After many years abroad, he now lives and works in his native Lapland.

Works
  • Eemil Karila, Pohjoinen yö, 2025
    Eemil Karila
    Pohjoinen yö, 2025
    ink, tempera and oil on linen
    47 1/8h x 57 1/8w in
    120.0h x 145.0w cm
  • Eemil Karila, Pohjoinen yö II, 2025
    Eemil Karila
    Pohjoinen yö II, 2025
    ink, tempera and oil on linen
    23 4/8h x 27 4/8w in
    60.0h x 70.0w cm
  • Eemil Karila, Open Eye Signal, 2024
    Eemil Karila
    Open Eye Signal, 2024
    ink, tempera and oil on linen
    33 3/8h x 29 4/8w in
    85.0h x 75.0w cm
Exhibitions