Johanna Kestilä, Unfinished Love Letter, Acrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas, 2022

Unfinished love letter (Abstract Painting) Acrylic and pencil on unstretched canvas - unframed Rolled works can be easily stretched (for canvas works, i.e. placed onto wooden stretcher bars) and/or framed by a local framer upon arrival. For this work, it is recommended to attach the fabric to the frames only at the top, so the fabric can hang freely. Finnish artist Johanna Kestilä creates visual works that dynamically combine movement and chance. Based in Helsinki, Kestilä is represented by Galleria G12 and the artist-run studio+gallery RIO11, drawing inspiration from people, raw feelings, and her surroundings. Kestilä’s artworks are a reorganization of unfiltered emotions and mental automatisms. Her artistic practice pursues a rearrangement of uncontrolled mindsets, working in a slow and often discontinuous manner. The creative process highlights the need to give a visual shape to formless memories and sensations through different media. The artist combines pictures and painted textile elements, rearranging them in powerful compositions. The result is a memory-based and strongly material work, characterized by lively colors and organic forms. Kestilä’s artworks are all about choices, mistakes, continuity, and coincidences. Her art questions process first, rather than achievements.