HELI 
TUHKANEN 
kuvataiteilija 
visual artist 
 
 
 
NEWS 
                                         
 
EXHIBITIONS & 
EVENTS 
 
For some of my latest artworks 
see Instagram @helituhkanen
    
 
NEXT SOLO EXHIBITION: 
ART MUSEUM OF KEMI 
 
ASLEEP BUT AWAKE 
Retrospective exhibition 
12.6. - 15.8.2026 
 
Marina Takalon katu 3 
Kemi, Finland 
mon-fri 10-17 
sat        10 - 15 
 
 
Tattooed rose 
 
More than 70 artworks spanning over 40  years  are  included 
in the exhibition: paintings, sculptures and  installations 
The  works combine technical skill, emotion and  thought  
in a way that  is charasteristic of the artist. Small  details and  
clues reveal the deeper content of the works to the viewer.  
 
The  use of recycled materials in the sculptures highlights  
the desire to save the nature we still have left. 
 
NEW 
ART BOOK 
 
ASLEEP BUT AWAKE 
 
Publisher:  Parus Verus 
ISBN 978-952-7245-41-5. 
 
Publishing on June 11th 
  
 
 
The book presents the art of painter-sculptor Heli Tuhkanen  
over a period of nore than 40 years, up until the retrospective  
exhibition at the Kemi Art Museum in 2026. 
 
In addition to 39 colour images, it includes an analysis of  
Heli Tuhkanen's art by art historian Markku Valkonen.  
A personal interview by museum director Henna Paunu  
sheds light on her background, technique and thoughts  
behind the works. The articles and biography are also in English. 
 
Heli Tuhkanen became known as a color-savvy surrealist,  
whose style is largely based on naivistic art.  
In her paintings and sculptures, she depicts life, it's pain,  
anxiety and moments of happiness, often experienced by  
women and girls.  
 
Thought, emotion and artistic technique combine in an  
expressive way. 
 
 
 
LATEST 
SOLO EXHIBITION 
 
AT HOME AND FAR AWAY 
 
September 2025 
Alppigalleria 
Helsinki 
 
   
 
Awakening                                     Children of the Forest 
 
 
“My work is an opportunity for me to be away, in another world,  
focused on one thing at a time, in silence, alone. 
 
In my work, I depict what is essential to me and what I cannot put  
into words; some moments when you realize the absurdity of life.  
 
The  themes of my art are the joys and pain points of humanity,  
especially the lives and emotions of women and girls: joy, sadness,  
anger and freedom 
 
I paint with a centuries-old layer painting technique, where overlapping 
thin layers of paint give the work the colour, light and atmosphere I want. 
In my sculptures, I work with recycled materials while protecting nature,  
mainly using the sculpture mass I have developed. I won't cast away  
small objects, trinkets, fragments into which the world drowns.” 
 
The fragments also describe well the world she experiences around us. 
As a counterbalance to the broken world, we can see small moments  
of happiness, which are not always part of the everyday reality of all of us. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LATEST 
GROUP EXHIBITION 
 
WE GOT FORM 
 
 
October 2025 
Galleria K 
Vantaa 
 
 
 
 
  
 
Parasol                                                                 Whistling              
  
My part of the exhibition was a group of sculptures 
about the life of girls  
 
 
 
  
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I AM LOOKING FOR MY STOLEN ARTWORKS  
REWARD FOR FOUND ITEMS! 
 
 
 
Paintings for the covers of 'Bear Princess' 
are gouache paintings on yellow paper.