ARTIST STATEMENT

Taru Salonen is a visual artist, printmaker and art teacher from Turku, Finland. She completed her Master's degree in Fine Arts from Aalto University in 2010 and graduated as a visual artist from Turku Arts Academy in 2024. She is specialized in printmaking.

I create woodcuts using a single-block technique, where layered, vibrant color surfaces combine with textured engraving lines. I typically print my large works by hand rubbing. I value craftsmanship in art. As a woodcut artist, working by hand with concrete materials is essential in my artistic process. The physicality and the repetitive nature of work provide time for reflection, changes in direction, and serendipity.

I also work with stone lithography, drypoint etching, and three-dimensional print on plaster. Drawing in various methods is at the core of my practice. I am interested in space and spatiality as both a theme and, increasingly, as a form of my artwork.

Thematically, my works explore questions of temporality and humanity. I often address emotions and memory through the relationship with nature or place-specific experiences. In my recent works, I have examined climate change and environmental grief.

BIO