Aleksi Martikainen

Peaceful encounter, 2025

The tree trunks in the work sway aimlessly back and forth, searching for their place. The movement is angular, perhaps a little comical. The gestures of tree trunks bring to mind moments of joy, encounters between people, stumbles, and hopes. The artist seeks moments that are pleasant and peaceful to be in. Aleksi Martikainen often finds inspiration for his works in nature. Through art, he learns openness and how to encounter others. While working on his pieces, he also ponders if preserving art makes sense. Parts of old works fill the artist's studio and may eventually, after a single performance, end up in the trash after years of storage without any new use. In his biennial work, he has utilized wood materials and motors from a work that was exhibited two years ago at the Mänttä Art Festival.

Aleksi Martikainen is a visual artist, his mediums being sculpture and moving images. His motorized sculptures are subtle attempts to seek out a sense of calm and joy. Martikainen graduated with a Master's degree in Fine Arts from Uniarts Helsinki's Academy of Fine Arts in 2023. He is originally from Savonlinna. He currently lives in Helsinki.