Nina G. Nahkala

My recent artwork has been focused on female faces that I illuminate through oil colors. Contemporary modern art often places an emphasis on intellectuality as well as objectivity while avoiding the appeal to the observer's feelings,such a motive in paintings is a delicate approach. But for an artist no topic or theme is useless. Although I use mixed techniques in my compositions, I stress accuracy in colors and shapes similar to many other masters in art. I'm not a fond of vague and watery oil color paintings and this is visible in my work. My collection as a whole reflects movement and change throughout. I'm happy that the female figures in my pictures have found new friends. In some wonderful way they touch our hearts. Women take us, in our imagination, to the first garden, the Garden of Paradise. Your secret inner garden will tell you whether you love ornamentation or if you prefer plain, simple lines.

Nina G. Nahkala

Education

2001 – 2004 Master of Arts, University of Art and Design Helsinki, Finland
2000 – 2001 Several private art courses
1998 – 2000 Studies in drama and improvisation in Theatre Academy of Finland
1997 – 1998 Studies in dramapedagogics in Jyväskylä University, Finland
1976 – 1981 Art School, Suhumi Gruusia

Exhibitions

Group exhibitions and joint exhibitions

1996 Finland, Teuva, Art Botnia Summer exhibitions
1997 Finland, Evijärvi Taidetilaa Tiira
Finland, Teuva, Art Botnia Summer exhibitions
1998 Finland, Alajärvi Taidekammari
Finland, Evijärvi Taidetilaa Tiira
1999 Finland, Seinäjoki, The Art Center
1999 Finland, Lappajärvi, Kivitippu Gallery
2003 Finland, Mänttä, The Art Center MyllyrannanTaidekeskus
2004 Finland, Mänttä, The Art Center MyllyrannanTaidekeskus
Finland, Seinäjoki, Varikko Gallery
2005 Finland, Pietarsaari, Tupakkamakasiini Art Center
2006 Finland, Oulu Sata Savua Gallery
2006 Finland, Alajärvi, Nelimarkka Museo
2007 Finland, Kauhava, Taidetalo

Scholarships

1992 + 1994 Järviseudu scolarships
1998 + 2003 Cultural scholarships from Vimpeli community

Membership

Member of The Finnish Watercolour society
Member of the Renaissance Association Ostro Botnia ( Finland)
Member of Järviseudu Art society in Finland
Winner of OPEKO Summer Art competition in Heinola 2001, Finland

Painted dreams – made of light, colours and emotions

To her birthplace in Central Asia she only has a distant memory, too often Nina G. Nahkala (46) had to move since then. She grew up in five countries of the former Soviet Union. But in retrospect the nowadays in Finland living painter only profited by this: "I grew up in several cultures. I have devoured the world and its pictures with my eyes and I have assimilated everything into my own visions."

And this could be the reason too, why each of her figurative oil paintings tells a story – composed of light, colours and emotions. And even though her portraits are very detailed and realistic, each figure is very close to the mythical figures of the frescoes. Each painting seems to be in a continuous movement, always changing, and under each mask there is a new one.

No doubt: Nina G. Nahkala is a very accurate observer of her surroundings, catches every impression with her brush and interprets it in her own way. In doing so she conveys the viewer the impression that viewing and living of feelings are connected with each other inseparable. “Paintings are like imaginary pictures or, in one way or another, visualized ideas”, she says. To her, human figures are very important in paintings, especially women: “They touch our hearts in a marvellous way.”

But also the symbolic gates, the musical instruments and the clown masks in her paintings have lots of meanings: “They give the realistic objects a new importance and invite the viewer on a magic trip in his own fantasy and imagination.” In doing so she thinks to enable the viewer to recognise the mysterious magic of timeless beauty.”

Inspiration and motives for her paintings she finds on her journeys throughout many countries, such as Lapland, Norway, Spain, France, Italy, Japan, Australia and the USA. This can be seen on her paintings on which the different cultures and times are connected with each other in a mysterious way. In order to create these effects she uses colour contrasts and combines figures with abstracts. “Each figure seems to be alone in its universe”, she says, “but I am not an abstract painter. I just want to paint the changing of all tings into abstract.”

Paintings can be seen at galleries: