Postcards from a Wandering Mind

Peetu Liesinen has titled his exhibition Postcards from a Wandering Mind. The paintings on canvas carry a lingering atmosphere, their subjects drifting somewhere between reality and dreams. They are paintings of images – documents of modes of representation rather than of motifs themselves. Old postcards, textbooks, and magazine images lend the works a worn, time-softened aesthetic.

A visual tension emerges from Liesinen’s way of combining the ephemerality and fragility of images with the enduring nature of the artwork. The works’ respect for imperfection and wear challenges the contemporary ideal of perfection. Liesinen’s paintings are narratives about history and the ways we look at it. They also examine modes of seeing from both mental and material life-cycle perspectives.

Liesinen does not shy away from nostalgic tones. He indulges in the colours and textures of the painting surface. Rough jute appears on the canvas, yet refined tonalities are emphasized through the use of ink. The surface of the canvas is present both as a visual and conceptual material. In Liesinen’s works, fading is intentional, yet they resonate with early pop collages, where magazine paper and printed advertisements have grown pale over time.

Souvenir-like cranes, a postcard mountain landscape, a fragment of a car advertisement, and springs – the paintings revolve around the world of images and illustrations, elevating the idea of apparent documentation to a new level. A landscape postcard is not real, and even less real is the artist’s interpretation of it. The same applies to advertising imagery and even to news photography. A distinct body of work is formed by small-scale butterfly paintings. They are richer and more layered than the rest of the exhibition. Each butterfly is different; some literally formed as new layers over older motifs.

Despite its tones of a bygone world, Liesinen’s work remains grounded in the present moment. In a timely way, he pushes against a visual culture that emphasizes novelty. This constant leaning toward the new reveals the fragility of the cultural system. Postcards from a Wandering Mind is not fragile—it is sensitive and strong. It associates, dreams, and builds bridges. Here, wandering is allowed.

Veikko Halmetoja, gallerist

This is Peetu Liesinen’s second exhibition at Galleria Halmetoja. He graduated with an MFA from the Academy of Fine Arts Helsinki in 2020, and his works are included in several public collections, including the Seppo Fränti Collection at Kiasma, and the collections of the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation and the Saastamoinen Foundation.