ABOUT

 All fiction is symbolic autobiography.
Angela Carter
 

Ilona Niemi depicts life from a female point of view, often through portraits of human-animal hybrids. Her paintings are visual amalgamations of people and animals she has met in real life, fiction or fantasy. Niemi's human-animal figures are deeply rooted in art history, recalling the bird-headed figure in the Lascaux caves. At the same time, she illuminates contemporary issues – including feminist discourse, biodiversity loss, and gender construction – through the language of paint. 

 

INSPIRATION

Niemi finds inspiration in poetry, life stories – particularly those of girls and women – feminism and fashion. Her many idols include Alice Neel, Yayoi Kusama, Eeva Kilpi, Angela Carter, Hannah Höch, Nicola Tyson, Chantal Joffe, Marlene Dumas, Annie Ernaux, Yoshitomo Nara, Marcel Dzama, Mamma Andersson, Helene Schjerfbeck, Marguerite Duras, Cheonae Kim, Lucas Cranach and Shane McGowan.
 

BIO IN SHORT

Niemi studied art at Gray's School of Art in Scotland (BA (Hons), 2001) and at SIUC in the USA (MFA, 2007). So far, her career highlights include winning the RSA Painting Prize & Maclaine Watters Medal (Edinburgh, 2001), being featured in the BP Portrait Award Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in (London, 2002) and receiving a commission from EMMA - Espoo Museum of Modern Art in Finland (2019).

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