TEEMU SAUKKONENFinito 1.11.2026 – 22.11.2026

Dead animals feature prominently in Teemu Saukkonen’s recent paintings, often depicted as carcasses prepared for food – yet rendered with an aesthetic sensibility that foregrounds their painterly qualities. His latest works bring together elements from different phases of his career, drawing on the neo-expressionism of the 1980s and the nonfigurative style he embraced around the turn of the millennium. References to art history abound, from Rembrandt and Goya to Francis Bacon and Magritte.

The subjects and titles of Saukkonen’s works are far from light-hearted. Examples include Finito, Beneath a Sulphur-Yellow Sky and The Night Was as Beautiful as a Dead Man. The apocalyptic mood is tempered, however, by a palette of sensuous colours and richly textured brushwork. These contradictions find their most exquisite and delicate expression in Sleeping Beauty. Here, a mint-green background serves as a pillow for the head of a decapitated rooster, finally laid to rest, seemingly at peace. There is hope in beauty – and sleep is death’s gentler twin.

For all the hope they convey, Saukkonen’s paintings could well offend staunch vegans and devoted meat lovers alike. Few people wish for animals to suffer, yet we expect tasty chops to appear on our plates without having to consider where they came from or how they were produced. Nor are Saukkonen’s paintings entirely innocuous as interior decor: a work such as Roasted Swan hanging on the dining-room wall might well put guests off their dinner. The floral paintings in the exhibition offer more immediate aesthetic appeal, yet they, too, ultimately address the same theme: the transience of life.

The exhibition invites us to reflect on a fundamental question about the role of art: is it there to please us or to make us think? Perhaps both. In any case, Saukkonen’s paintings offer a refreshing challenge, confronting us with truths we might prefer to avoid. For all their macabre subject matter, they are shot through with a distinctly dark sense of humour.

Tomi Moisio, PhD, art historian

Teemu Saukkonen (b. 1954) studied at Kankaanpää Art School from 1975 to 1978. He rose to prominence in the early 1980s as one of the leading figures of the “Kuopio School” of neo-expressionism. He has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions, and his works are represented in all of Finland’s major art collections. His notable exhibitions of recent years include a retrospective at the Sara Hildén Art Museum in 2020 and The Wild – The Rise and Defiance of the Kuopio School, a touring exhibition currently on display at Mikkeli Art Museum until February 14, 2027.