Marianna Uutinen instantly made a mark in the late 1980’s and in the 1990’s with her paintings built up from layers and strips of acrylic paint. In contrast to many of her fellow Nordic neo-expressionist painters, nature did not serve as her backdrop or source of inspiration. Uutinen draped the paint over the canvas, creating three-dimensional paintings in the cross section of sculpture and painting. The acrylic seemingly moved around over the painting’s surface, sometimes covering the whole and sometimes only a part. Uutinen has over the years established a very specific, expressive painterly language. She uses bright colors, often together with black. The last years, the sculptural element of the paintings has turned inwards. Instead of engaging the space outside of the canvas, Uutinen has developed a painterly technique using glitter, creating movements as well as infinite depth in her sublime paintings. These works, reminiscent of cosmos, invites the viewer to experience new dimensions.

Marianna Uutinen, born 1961 in Pieksämäki, Finland, currently lives and works in Helsinki and Berlin. Marianna Uutinen attended the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki, 1980–85, and the Institut des Hautes Études en Arts Plastiques in Paris, 1991–92.

Marianna Uutinen’s work has been exhibited at Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Moderna Museet, Malmö; Malmö Konsthall; Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki; Kunsthalle Helsinki; EMMA - Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo; Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen; Living Art Museum, Reykjavik; Städtische Galerie Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg; Weserburg Museum of Modern Art, Bremen; and Ludwig Museum, Koblenz, among others. In 1997 Marianna Uutinen represented Finland at the Venice Biennale.

Marianna Uutinen was awarded the Finland Prize for her distinguished artistic career in 2006. She served as a Professor of Painting at the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 2004–08.

Marianna Uutinen's work is in the permanent collection of Helsinki Art Museum; Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki; National Museum Stockholm; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Oslo; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk; National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik; Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo; TIA Collection, Santa Fe; and the Seoul Museum of Art, among others. Public commissions include Nude for the Local Government Pensions Institution in Helsinki.