CANDIDATE 2001

Johanna Ehrnrooth

Painter Johanna Ehrnrooth studied at the Paris École Nationale Superieur des Beaux-Arts (1978-83). She debuted in Paris in 1982 and first exhibited in Helsinki in 1993. Working mainly in tempera and pastels, Ehrnrooth explores viewing conventions using recurrent leitmotifs such as reflections in mirrors/glass and café interiors. Although her paintings are figurative, Ehrnrooth breaks up the image into fragmented planes, as if she were simultaneously observing it from multiple angles with the aid of a looking glass. Her representations of the female figure are imbued with overt physicality and sexuality. Ehrnrooth's paintings occupy a borderland between dream and reality. Her work is represented in collections including the Helsinki Museum of Contemporary Art, the Amos Anderson Art Museum and the Helsinki City Art Museum.