Anni Vahlqvist is a Finnish artist. She has studied painting Pori School of Art and Turku University of Applied Sciences (Culture and Art’s Master’s degree). In 2022 Anni graduated as solution-focused art therapy. She work mainly with acrylic and oil paints. She also uses her fingers and natural materials to make the vibrant colors and textures in her paintings. Anni uses strong cartoon-like lines and combines with abstract softness.
Anni participates in exhibitions every year. She has been awarded grants. Anni operates internationally the activities of the RaumArs Association of Visitors inspector. He is also from Pori artists' association and Solution-focused art therapists ry member. Anni does illustrations for children with watercolors and digital techniques. Anni has been painting since she was a child
Artist: Anni Vahlqvist
Based in Athens, Greece
Instagram:
@matinavossou
Culturally Arts Collective features:
"Dream Living", April 25th-June 3rd 2022, Milostka Center for Exhibitions
What do you aim to say by the themes in your art?
My art mainly is people-centered. For me, there is no reality apart from people: their emotions, their thoughts and their ideas. Time and Place are being known to me through them. This is the way my perception and my consciousness have been constructed. I am painting human faces like mosaics, fragmented but whole, prismatic and thus reflecting a variety of colors. I am interested in depicting the complexity of them and the steady bond between their feelings and their concepts. Everything is connected and all these elements form our identity; being who we are and how we behave equals to a personal universe with some parts completely in the light and others still in the dark. A tailored balance runs through them and this ephemeral existence of ours makes every single moment priceless. The themes in my art focus on memory and time passing by; agony for the future and sadness for the past; somewhere in between lies the struggle for the present, whether it has to do with a loss or the need to survive.
Where does your inspiration come from?
Inspiration can strike at any moment. Ancient Greeks thought that inspiration was like a gadfly, buzzing around and annoying the artist. So, anything can attract my interest; a photo, some words, a brief melody. A sentiment may unite some of the above and an idea will arise. It sounds like a simple process but in the background works a multifaceted mechanism blending together various “materials”. Every mind carries a lot of luggage through experiences; however artists have an inclination in connecting the dots and producing a new visualization of something.
Do you have experiences that impacted your art?
Unfortunately, yes. For many years I had abandoned painting. My regular job was consuming a great deal of hours every day, plus the responsibilities towards my family didn’t leave enough time for any kind of creativity. When you let go, life has its own way to hypnotize you and absorb your energy with a whole lot of different problems and challenges. But it is no use crying over spilled milk. We are who we have become and nothing is really lost along the way. The music stops for a while and then begins again. So, after a long creative hiatus, I started dancing to this new music that was being heard clearly without any interruptions.
Do you feel your art challenges existing barriers?
To consider that there are barriers in art would immediately transform this gift to an egoistic and competitive game. I think that every artist is competing against himself/herself and no one else. One artist may be trying to improve his/her technique; another one may be trying to intensify the color palette or to clarify the ideas behind the depicted subjects. But all artists owe be true to themselves and show their authenticity through color or form. It’s like walking barefoot on the wet sand on the beach; you have to leave your own unique footmarks, which may look alike others by in fact they are not. And if a big wave comes eventually and erases our footprints, at least we will know that we have accomplished our mission by not walking in anyone else’s shoes.
What are your long-term artistic goals?
My primary long-term goal is to continue creating art, to make up for all the time spent away from the creative procedure. Secondary, through my painting, is to keep on communicating with people and sharing views and ideas.
What advice do you have for aspiring artists?
My advice is to never give up, to follow their dreams and to hold on to their personal style. Art like everything we love needs sincerity and devotion. The journey is that matters the most and not the destination.
