Ulla Rantanen

The Good Shepard, 2003-2006, gouache, charcoal and pencil on paper, 180 x 146 cm.

The works of Ulla Rantanen hold inside a solid silence. They don’t shout out their message, they don’t make loud comments, they don’t demand answers. Her works are scarce in form and colour; they are composed and profound. In this sense the works of Ulla Rantanen are to a great extent images of their maker. The artist is withdrawn, but behind her silence is veiled a hidden strength.

This exhibition shows five decades of Ulla Rantanen’s work, from the 1960s to the present day. This time span includes several different working periods, numerous exhibitions and many prizes and distinctions.

Ulla Rantanen started her career in the early sixties and the skilful drawer, graphic artist and painter lived through a busy time of exhibitions until the mid-eighties. After the intensive exhibition years Ulla Rantanen has stepped aside and turned “from art to life”. Nowadays she rarely holds exhibitions. She spends a big part of every year in her home in Kenya, and thanks to the new experiences of beauty in Africa, her artistic work continues.