Katarina Reuter’s paintings invite the viewer into the fascinating worlds of nature

Follow the press conference (in Finnish & Swedish) on Tuesday 3 October at 10am remotely on Zoom through this link. 

A deep fascination towards the natural sciences and in-depth exploration of subjects are highlighted in Katarina Reuter’s (b. 1964) layered paintings that feed the imagination. The works reflect upon biodiversity and our relationship with nature. At the same time, the landscapes, spaces and animals depicted by Reuter guide one’s thoughts to another place, towards an imaginative reality lying just beyond everyday life. 

Black Crow Blues displays approximately twenty paintings from Reuter’s oeuvre, the majority of which have been created for the prize exhibition. The exhibition on display in EMMA’s large exhibition space offers the audience an opportunity to stop and take in the artist’s masterfully crafted, detailed works. 

“The intimate and intense display of the Fine Arts Academy of Finland’s Prize Exhibition curated for EMMA is a tribute to the slow concept of time in the art of painting,” says EMMA’s Museum Director Pilvi Kalhama. “It is especially important that in our hectic present day, the prize has been awarded to an artist whose works create a longing for stillness, contemplation and lingering.” 

Katarina Reuter works and lives in the countryside, surrounded by the natural subjects of her works. In her works, Reuters combines the classical technique with the artist’s solid view of the present. The different dimensions of Reuter’s art are explored as part of the artist book published in conjunction with the exhibition, featuring essays by the exhibition’s curator Pernilla Wiik, writer Tua Forsström and Emeritus Professor Altti Kuusamo. The artist book will be available later this autumn. 

The Fine Arts Academy of Finland Prize is one of the largest art prizes in Finland, and it is awarded to a Finnish artist at their creative peak. It includes a monetary prize supported by the City of Espoo and an exhibition at EMMA together with an artist book produced and published by EMMA in conjunction with the exhibition. Previous prize recipients and artists who have held prize exhibitions at EMMA are Aaron Heino, Tuomas A. Laitinen, Camilla Vuorenmaa and Outi Pieski. EMMA has produced the exhibition in collaboration with the Fine Arts Academy of Finland and the City of Espoo.