The official portrait of former governor Erkki Liikanen was unveiled today at the Bank of Finland. The portrait was painted by artist Anna Retulainen.
According to Ms Retulainen, the brushwork, colour, material and rhythm of the painting capture a fragile memory of an encounter with a man wearing a blue suit.
‘Layer by layer, the painting brings my memory into being. The painting is an amalgamation — of myself, of the model. Who is the subject, who is the person being observed? In a portrait, subject and object reciprocate and become intertwined. In the end, a painting is only paint, it holds no person. Each element is of equal importance, there is no subject and background — there is only the painting,’ says Ms Retulainen.
Erkki Liikanen served as Governor of the Bank of Finland during the years 2004–2018.
In his unveiling speech, Governor Olli Rehn lauded Anna Retulainen for her marvellous portrait. ‘The artist has deftly captured her subject, who is always on the move. This work is not only a portrait but an important part of the Bank’s contemporary art collection,’ said Governor Rehn.
A digital photograph of the portrait is available at the Bank of Finland’s Flickr account.
For further information, please contact:
Jukka Valle, Chair of the Art Club, tel. +358 9 183 2617, jukka.valle(a)bof.fi
Eeva Kristiina Lahtinen, Communications Specialist, tel. +358 9 183 2908, eevakristiina.lahtinen(a)bof.fi
Artist statement by Anna Retulainen (pdf, Finnish)