In the heart of historic Turku, inside a former tobacco factory, lies a vibrant cultural hub known as Taiteen talo. The site consists of six buildings dating from the late 19th century to the 1920s and today serves as a creative centre for dozens of professional artists and cultural practitioners – visual artists, writers, and people working in performing arts, literary and comic arts.
Visual artist Sini-Meri Hedberg has had her studio at Taiteen talo since 2023.
She is also one of the founders of the artist-run Gallery Aski. The gallery together with the creative community has made her working life far more social than before. Regular meetings, group exhibitions and planning together create a sense of belonging in her everyday life. For Sini-Meri, the community and the ongoing conversations about art-making are especially meaningful in a time marked by uncertainty and the challenges of making a living as an artist. Alongside Sini-Meri, three other artists from Taiteen talo, Kristina Isaksson, Sanna Leinonen and Jaana Valtari, are participating in this year’s Konstrundan.
- My work involves spending a lot of time in front of my paintings, in a state without any obvious purpose. The dialogue with art often evolves very slowly, and a painting may hang on the wall for weeks before I understand where it wants me to take it.
For Sini-Meri, being an artist is rooted in an innate will to create something new. She wants to see the world in a broader and more layered way, where there is less space for facts. Art, she says, makes her feel whole, and painting allows her to enter a state of flow. Yet the path to becoming an artist was not entirely straightforward. Before studying at the Arts Academy at Turku University of Applied Sciences, she studied art history and Finnish literature. Both fields continue to influence her artistic practice today.
Among her artistic influences, Sini-Meri especially highlights Frida Kahlo and Kaspar David Friedrich. Kahlo was one of her earliest inspirations, and in the early years of her career Sini-Meri often painted self-portraits inspired by her work. Friedrich’s influence can be seen in Sini-Meri’s misty landscapes, mountain motifs and certain compositional choices. Like her artistic idols, she is drawn to existential themes in her work.
- There is a certain sensitivity in being an artist. It’s a way of seeing, hearing and experiencing matters deeply, and staying with them for a long time.
Sini-Meri says she is often working with themes that are hard to put into words. Her process is intuitive and demands presence: a long time spent observing the paintings intensely.
- The dialogue with art often evolves very slowly, and a painting may hang on the wall for weeks before I understand where it wants me to take it. At other times the process is fast, and I immediately know when a painting is finished. I work on the painting’s terms.
Her finished pieces reflect art history. As an example, Sini-Meri mentions her piece Seikkailu, which was inspired by Otto Mäkilä’s paintings Outo maa (1939) and He näkevät mitä me emme näe (1939). “I’m fascinated by the ambiguity of these paintings and by their ability to ask questions without offering clear answers. He näkevät mitä me emme näe in particular continues to spark new thoughts in me.”
Sini-Meri has worked as an artist for more than twenty years. Beyond visual art, she draws inspiration from literature, film and music. Sometimes traces of a melody or a poem find their way into her paintings. Looking back at older works, she does so with tenderness, remembering the moments they were created. At times, she discovers entirely new meanings in them. She is also moved by the thought that her paintings continue to live on in people’s homes.
She often works in series, creating paintings sharing a theme. Although her subjects evolve over time, new works may still carry influences and traces from pieces created many years earlier.
At the time of the interview, in April 2026, Sini-Meri is preparing for her upcoming exhibition Merellisiä, opening in June. The works explore marine ecosystems, the importance of biodiversity and the urgent need to act for the future of nature. Currently, she finds herself increasingly drawn to themes connected to the external world rather than the inner, personal subjects that characterised much of her earlier work. The paintings reflect concerns about biodiversity loss, environmental destruction and the future of the landscape itself.
Artistic practice changes and evolves over time. The past remains present in the now. The process is never-ending and there is no final destination, only a continuation that reflects what has been and responds to what is still to come.
Portait photo: Linda Svarfvar