Nanna Susi
Basic information
b. 1967, Vääksy
Visual artist
Residence: Helsinki ja Rooma
Contact information
Phone number: +358 50 5163312
Email: nanna(at)nannasusi.fi
Artist’s Statement
Over the Sea
All the paintings in my new exhibition at Meilahti Kunsthalle were completed this year, 2025.
I am the kind of artist who throws herself completely into her work. In January, I threw myself into this exhibition. I took only one day off all summer. I know, of course, that my way of working makes little sense.
I did not go swimming once all summer, yet somehow I swam a far longer journey. I reached my destination, and now I have come ashore. Meilahti Kunsthalle rests by the sea, and to me, it is the most beautiful exhibition space anywhere in Helsinki. The journey was worth every moment.
My paintings are a love affair with life. An enamoured heart flows through my work. Ravens forage the fields, the sea greets the land, small boats bob upon the waves, bowls overflow with fruits, trees stretch skyward, roses bloom in gardens tended and untended. Blustery winds blow, sometimes it’s cold, sometimes it’s hot. Mountains call to be climbed. Angels offer comfort and guidance. Tears fill the sea, hearts beat. And in the midst of it all, there is peace. Paradise could be here – today, now.
Anchor to the Unknown
It all begins with a blank, white canvas and a fierce need to speak through paint. I project my thoughts, my feelings, my very self onto it. In this way, I explore what cannot be seen. At some point, a shore appears. And then another. And another. My thoughts reach land, my soul is enchanted by the sunrise, my mind casts an anchor into the unknown.
They say a person cannot be in two places at once, yet we all know this is not quite true. Our minds and hearts are always on journey around the world, constantly moving, not only around the sun but also towards the light.
Ferry of Thoughts and Senses
The challenge of creating art is to make the invisible visible.
Our senses grasp laughter, tears, and fleeting moments of ecstasy as the autumn wind sweeps across our faces. But where does that faint smell of smoke drift from? A dog barks, even before the silence breaks. Another person’s hand is real and true. Looking into someones’s eyes is the most important moment of the day. Tears taste salty, chocolate melts in your mouth.
Painting is the sixth sense. painting is a place where senses and thinking mix. A humble vessel, it carries formless shapes, trembling ideas, sparkling epiphanies, dizzying emotions, and colored light from one shore to the next – and back again. There is not always a fixed destination, you may not always find your way home. Yet there is always a horizon, a line that preserves balance. Looking far clarifies the mind
The horizon is the longest bridge in the world. It connects us all. The bridge is an idea, and we pace toward it along the tightrope of our eyes. Just as earth and sky remain distinct, we orient ourselves in relation to the horizon – forever on the other side.
Each of us is the epicenter of our own lives. We are, in a way, bound by gravity, yet all around us stretches the horizon.
It does us good to look as far as the eye can reach. Looking ahead is a clarification of feelings and thoughts. Between these points lie consciousness, memory, and future. Pain and happiness. And for me, painting.
When you look long enough, and far enough, at some point you will come across the angels.
Helsinki, August 31, 2025
Nanna Susi
All the paintings in my new exhibition at Meilahti Kunsthalle were completed this year, 2025.
I am the kind of artist who throws herself completely into her work. In January, I threw myself into this exhibition. I took only one day off all summer. I know, of course, that my way of working makes little sense.
I did not go swimming once all summer, yet somehow I swam a far longer journey. I reached my destination, and now I have come ashore. Meilahti Kunsthalle rests by the sea, and to me, it is the most beautiful exhibition space anywhere in Helsinki. The journey was worth every moment.
My paintings are a love affair with life. An enamoured heart flows through my work. Ravens forage the fields, the sea greets the land, small boats bob upon the waves, bowls overflow with fruits, trees stretch skyward, roses bloom in gardens tended and untended. Blustery winds blow, sometimes it’s cold, sometimes it’s hot. Mountains call to be climbed. Angels offer comfort and guidance. Tears fill the sea, hearts beat. And in the midst of it all, there is peace. Paradise could be here – today, now.
Anchor to the Unknown
It all begins with a blank, white canvas and a fierce need to speak through paint. I project my thoughts, my feelings, my very self onto it. In this way, I explore what cannot be seen. At some point, a shore appears. And then another. And another. My thoughts reach land, my soul is enchanted by the sunrise, my mind casts an anchor into the unknown.
They say a person cannot be in two places at once, yet we all know this is not quite true. Our minds and hearts are always on journey around the world, constantly moving, not only around the sun but also towards the light.
Ferry of Thoughts and Senses
The challenge of creating art is to make the invisible visible.
Our senses grasp laughter, tears, and fleeting moments of ecstasy as the autumn wind sweeps across our faces. But where does that faint smell of smoke drift from? A dog barks, even before the silence breaks. Another person’s hand is real and true. Looking into someones’s eyes is the most important moment of the day. Tears taste salty, chocolate melts in your mouth.
Painting is the sixth sense. painting is a place where senses and thinking mix. A humble vessel, it carries formless shapes, trembling ideas, sparkling epiphanies, dizzying emotions, and colored light from one shore to the next – and back again. There is not always a fixed destination, you may not always find your way home. Yet there is always a horizon, a line that preserves balance. Looking far clarifies the mind
The horizon is the longest bridge in the world. It connects us all. The bridge is an idea, and we pace toward it along the tightrope of our eyes. Just as earth and sky remain distinct, we orient ourselves in relation to the horizon – forever on the other side.
Each of us is the epicenter of our own lives. We are, in a way, bound by gravity, yet all around us stretches the horizon.
It does us good to look as far as the eye can reach. Looking ahead is a clarification of feelings and thoughts. Between these points lie consciousness, memory, and future. Pain and happiness. And for me, painting.
When you look long enough, and far enough, at some point you will come across the angels.
Helsinki, August 31, 2025
Nanna Susi
Current information
Over the Sea
22.10.2025-22.3.2026
Kunsthalle Meilahti
Tamminiementie 6
00250 Helsinki
tue-sun 11 am - 6 pm
https://meilahdenkartano.fi/in-english/
nanna susi studio
Fleminginkatu 6
00530 Helsinki
https://www.nannasusi.fi/en/front-page/
