Ritva Tuomi

Basic information

b. 1963, Helsinki
Visual artist
Residence: Espoo

Contact information

Phone number: +358 50 5898130

Artist’s Statement

In my photographs, humans and nature meet as parts of the universe, connected to the past and the future.

The flowers from my mother’s garden charm with their beauty, but also wither and dry. The vulnerability and fragility of life is reflected in the decayed flowers, as questions about brevity of life, transience, and passing of time arise.

Flowers are intertwined with life and death. Flower bouquets are used to congratulate, and celebrate those who are born, and through them we remember the dead. Flowers are present through various moments of our lives.
My new series, Greetings from Broken Flowers tells us about the severed connection between us and nature.

The photographs taken in her mother's garden since 1987 capture moments from harvest to decay, from children growing up to adulthood and finally saying goodbye to parents. Works from the series have been exhibited, among others, in the Paratiisin puutarha exhibition at HAM, a solo exhibition at the Photogallery Hippolyte and the PhotoVogue Festival in Milan (2025).
The series continues with Lumi Tuomi in the form of a collaboration with the Muaman Sadu (Mother's Garden) exhibition at the Poriginal gallery of the Pori Art Museum in 2026.
Show biography

Current information

Muaman sadu, Äidin puutarha Porin taidemuseo

Poriginal Galleria  24.4. - 18.6.2026

 

You can find my art on Taiko   https://www.taiko.art/ritva-tuomi

 

The Tree of Life: A Love Letter to Nature,

The PhotoVogue Festival Milan in March 2025

 

 

 

Bio

Ritva Tuomi is a visual artist and gardener whose works reflect Karelian cultural heritage. Tuomi studied photography at the Lahti Institute of Design from 1985 to 1989 and has participated in numerous exhibitions in Finland and abroad. She won the national Kodak Award (1990) and participated in the international competition in Arles (1991) and received the Fotofinlandia recognition award (1992).


The photographs taken in her mother's garden since 1987 capture moments from harvest to decay, from children growing up to adulthood and finally saying goodbye to parents. Works from the series have been exhibited, among others, in the Paratiisin puutarha  exhibition at HAM, a solo exhibition at the Photogallery Hippolyte and the PhotoVogue Festival in Milan (2025).


The series continues with Lumi Tuomi in the form of a collaboration with the Muaman Sadu (Mother's Garden) exhibition at the Poriginal gallery of the Pori Art Museum in 2026.


Tuomi's works are in several art collections such as HAM Helsinki Art Museum, Kiasma, Kodak, Pikkuparlamentti and the State Art Collection.


She lives, works and cultivates gardens in Espoo and Vihtijärvi.