Joel Slotte

Joel Slotte
Knight’s Squire, 2020
oil on canvas
160 x 140 cm

In Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma Collection

In the restless fantasies of JOEL SLOTTE’s paintings, we see complex underdogs, bruised thinkers and weary revellers. The features in the (self)portraits are rugged, the gazes inaccessible, yet relatable. Moving effortlessly from lush gardens and shabby bike sheds, to the murkiness of art history, or the gates of a cemetery, Slotte’s rich symbolic scenes are dense with meaning – the medieval armors, plant mythology, squirming tattoos and jagged death metal logos serve as markers to the characters’ mindscapes. Moving from large canvases to smaller, coloured pencil drawings, Slotte’s palette becomes even more acidic, details more staggering, and the figures more fantastical.
 
Joel Slotte (b. 1987, Kokkola) lives and works in Helsinki. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in 2016. In 2021, Slotte was elected the Young Artist of the Year. His work has been shown in numerous exhibitions, most recently at HAM Helsinki Art Museum (2024); Turku Art Museum (2024), Finlandsinstitutets galleri, Stockholm (2023); and the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki (2022). In addition to private collections in Finland, Sweden and Denmark, Slotte’s works have been acquired by major public collections, including the art museums of Helsinki, Tampere, Turku and Kuopio, the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation and the Pro Artibus Foundation.

Smoke and Moonlight, 2026
oil on canvas, framed
73 x 63 cm

Kahlaaja ja vesimittarit, 2023
oil on canvas
70 x 60 cm

In Turku Art Museum Collection

Endless Cloak and Howling Candles, 2024
oil on canvas
170 x 150 cm

In private collection

Kuihtunut ruusu ja rauniot, 2024
oil on canvas
70 x 65 cm

In Saastamoinen Foundation Collection

Nektariineja metrossa, 2023
oil on canvas
70 x 60 cm

In private collection

Celestial dungeon keeper, 2024
coloured pencil on paper, framed
51 x 36 cm

In private collection

Kuu vampyyrin linnan yllä, 2023
coloured pencil on paper
30 x 23 cm

In private collection

Harebells on a Shortcut, 2021
oil on canvas
160 x 120 cm

In Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation Collection

Perhoskerääjä ja punakoiso, 2021
oil on canvas
55 x 50 cm

In Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation Collection

A Kiss at the Cemetery Gate
8 Aug – 1 Sep 2024

Installation view
Photo: Jussi Tiainen

A Kiss at the Cemetery Gate
8 Aug – 1 Sep 2024

Installation view
Photo: Jussi Tiainen

EMERGING 2021
15 Apr – 9 May 2021

Installation view
Photo: Jussi Tiainen

Selection of available works. For the full list, please contact galerie(at)anhava.com

The Still Life Painter Builds a Vanitas, 2026
oil on canvas, framed
73,5 x 68 cm

Faun, 2021
coloured pencil on paper
45 x 37 cm, framed

Heippa / Bye, 2025
oil on canvas
22 x 19 cm

Yksinäisin vampyyri / The Loneliest Vampire, 2022
coloured pencil on paper, framed
30 x 23 cm

Pihatienocturne, 2023
oil on canvas
30 x 25 cm

Zombi ja aavekäärme / Zombie and Ghost Snake, 2021
coloured pencil on paper, framed
30 x 23 cm

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BioCVExhibitions

Exhibitions

Bio

YLE: Death metal kohtaa fantasian: Joel Slotten uusissa teoksissa on mädän lemua ja maagisia maailmoja

HBL: Joel Slotte målar plastkassar och ölburkar av kärlek till Helsingfors

Radio Helsinki: Cadia X HAM – Joel Slotte

…………………………………………..

Instead of shining heroes or powerful achievers, Joel Slotte’s art focuses on complex underdogs, bruised thinkers and weary revellers. The paintings are seamlessly layered with medieval knights, plant mythology, falafel-greasy incidences and jagged death metal logos. The works move effortlessly from lush gardens and shabby bike sheds to the murkiness of art history, the far edges of the universe, or the gates of a cemetery.

Sometimes described as autofiction, the portraits are often triggered by a mundane moment or observation of real life – the shame of having to break into your own storage cage, getting drenched at a summer festival, sharing a campfire evening with a friend. From such experiences and faces of friends, Slotte crafts rich symbolic scenes that are dense with meaning, empathetic in their gaze, and breathtaking in their details. Moving from large canvases to smaller coloured pencil drawings, the palette becomes more acidic, the figures more fantastical, the line more unforgiving.

The restless and conflicted characters in Slotte’s paintings have been bruised and now defend themselves against the world with spikes, protective walls, or by retreating into their mind. Their features are rugged, their gaze inaccessible yet relatable. The immersiveness of the images is enhanced by the precision of the captured moments, tones, smells, tastes, sensations and moods. The surrounding plants and morbid band names on t-shirts serve as markers to the characters’ mindscapes. Ruins smoulder, hearts bleed and the Grim Reaper smiles in arm tattoos.

CV

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JOEL SLOTTE

b. 1987, Kokkola
Lives and works in Helsinki

EDUCATION
2007 – 2009 The Nordic Art School, Kokkola
2010 – 2016 MFA, Uniarts Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

  • 2024
    • A Kiss at the Cemetery Gate, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
    • Museum of Speculative Anatomy, Paja Galleria, Helsinki
    • Same Spells and Haunted Ponds, Turku Art Museum, Turku
  • 2023
    • Vintage Spells under a Cheap Moon, Finlandinstitutets galleri, Stockholm
  • 2022
    • Squalid Paradise, Vallilan panimon galleria, Helsinki
  • 2021
    • Young artist of the year, Tikanojan taidekoti, Vaasa
    • Young artist of the year, Tampere art museum, Tampere
  • 2020
    • Tonttuyö – Goblin Night, Galleria Live, Helsinki
    • Trubaduuri ja pohjanlepakko, Galleria Artista, Kokkola
  • 2019
    • Lumpunkerääjä, tm•galleria, Helsinki
    • Crypt show, B-Galleria, Turku
    • Folklorea tunkiolta, Galleria Huuto, Helsinki
  • 2014
    • Love & Money, Hasan & partners, Helsinki

SELECTED DUO AND GROUP EXHIBITIONS

  • 2026
    • Our Land, for All, Kunsthalle Helsinki, Helsinki
    • Encore! Classics and contemporary art from the collections, Tampere Art Museum, Tampere
  • 2025
    • In the Mirror the Shadows of Time Disappear, Vantaa Art Museum Artsi, Vantaa
    • Magical, Kumma Kuopio Art Museums, Kuopio
  • 2024
    • Mosse ja tatuoidut ystävät, Tampere Art Museum’s Valogalleria, Tampere
    • SPÅR, K.H. Renlund’s Museum, Kokkola
    • The Girl Who Turned into a Rosebush, HAM Helsinki Art Museum, Helsinki
    • Normal drinks and our daily bread, Lappeenranta Art Museum, Lappeenranta
  • 2023
    • O.S.A. R.S.V.P., Gallerie Elverket, Tammisaari
  • 2022
    • ARS24, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki
    • Variaatioita – Works from The Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation Collection, Rovaniemi Art Museum,  Rovaniemi
    • Ihmisen kuva, Kuopio Art Museum, Kuopio
  • 2021
    • Emerging 2021, Galerie Anhava, Helsinki
  • 2020
    • Aki Koskinen & Joel Slotte, White Box Gallery, Pietarsaari
    • Kootut salaisuudet, Galleri Elverket, Tammisaari
    • Vastahankaan, Nastola summer exhibition, Nastola
    • Ars Longa, K.H. Renlund museum, Kokkola
    • Bird Feeders, Ramsholmen, Tammisaari
    • Battle Royale With Cheese, Tiketti galleria, Helsinki
  • 2019
    • Ripples, Home exhibition, Marcy, Helsinki
    • CHART / Emerging: The Gatherer, The Dumpsterdiver, The Raver, The Hunter, The Alien and The Witch, Charlottenborg, Copenhagen
    • Purpuritanssi, SIC, Helsinki
  • 2015
    • A charming bouquet of neuroses, Myymälä2, Helsinki
    • Kuvan kevät 2015, Project room, Helsinki
  • 2014
    • Everything you can think of is true, Fotografins hus, Stockholm
  • 2013
    • Nuoret 2013, Taidehalli, Helsinki
    • Rum, Kakelhallen, Maarianhamina
    • Koolla on väliä, Kaiku galleria, Helsinki
  • 2008
    • Stories in black & white, Kellarigalleria, Kokkola
    • You gotta burn to shine, The Nordic Art School, Kokkola

WORKS IN COLLECTIONS
Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art
Helsinki Art Museum
Pro Artibus Foundation
Tampere Art Museum
Turku Art Museum
Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation
Saastamoinen Foundation Collection
K.H. Renlund Museum
Finnish art society (teosarpajaiset 2019)
Units Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts’ collections
Private collections in Finland, Sweden and Denmark

AWARDS
Young Artist of the Year 2021, Tampere Art Museum

RECIDENCIES
2019 Drake Arts Centre, Kokkola
2012 Helsinki Academy of Fine Arts & Stockholm Royal Institute of Art residency, Berlin

MEMBERSHIPS
The Finnish Painter’s Union (aspirant member)

GRANTS
2024 The Finnish Cultural Foundation
2024  Hélène and Walter Grönqvist Foundation
2020 Arts Promotion Centre Finland
2019 Arts Promotion Centre Finland
2019 The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland
2019 The Finnish Cultural Foundation
2018 The Finnish Art Society grant for young artists
2018 The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland
2018 Paulo Foundation
2016 Kone Foundation