Essi Kuokkanen’s solo exhibition Underbelly at Turku Art Museum’s Studio space presents paintings and drawings created during 2023. The title Underbelly alludes to something hidden, a symbolically vulnerable and weak spot or the lower part of the body. It is also a metaphor for something breaking through the defenses. Psychological and moral complexity is hidden in the actions of the characters, and conflicting emotions and intentions can coexist simultaneously in Kuokkanen’s works. Within the paintings, everything is fluid yet firmly connected to the world we live in. The exhibition runs until 27 August 2023.

Image: Horsy, 2023, oil on canvas, 37 x 30 cm