Antti Holma 6.9.–30.11.2025

Rough edges of life, sense of danger and physical frenzy – all this can be found in the comprehensive exhibition of the Oulu woodcut master’s life’s work. With works from the late 1970s to the present day, this cross-section of the artist’s work focuses on works from the 2000s.

Antti Holma (b. 1942) has made the incomprehensibility of existence the central theme of his art. Although the subject matter is weighty, making art is meaningful in itself. Honesty about oneself and the state of the world is an important starting point for the work.

Antti Holma, now on a state artist’s pension, still works actively in his small workshop in the courtyard of an old wool factory in Pikisaari. He is a veteran of the island’s artistic community, with more than 50 years of experience of working in different spaces on the island.

Holma originally wanted to be a painter, but with the help of the printmaker Pentti Kaskipuro, he became interested in printmaking, especially woodcut printmaking, during his studies. Holma’s electrifying and physical style of engraving is easily recognisable. Emotions and stories are told through a language of gesture, expression and posture. The figurative works continue the tradition of Expressionist art, while the influence of 60s Pop Art is also evident.

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