Artist & Curator based in Helsinki, Finland.

A woman sitting on stone steps outdoors, surrounded by trees and shrubs, with paintings of abstract shapes on the steps. Finnish artist Satu Metsola in Greece with her paintings.

In my artistic practice painting is combined with contemplative meditation exercises and the use of intuitive knowledge.

I primarily create abstract paintings in oil and oil pastel, while also producing small-scale sculptures.

Painting is a journey for me, in which letting go of preconceptions and being fully present in the moment opens space for spontaneous expression and deeper self-knowledge. Meditation practices have been part of my daily life for years, and their influence is visible both in the process and in the outcomes. My works emerge from the interaction of tacit knowledge, sensory perception, significance of not-knowing and the surrounding environments.

Selection of works

  • Artist Satu Metsola's abstract and colourful oil painting named I call You a Bird, 2026

    I Call You a Bird. Oil on canvas, 2026

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's abstract ceramic sculpture which name is Rest as a Bird

    Rest as a Bird. Ceramic sculpture, 2024-25

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's abstract ceramic sculpture called The Goddess of the Two Horizons

    The Goddess of the Two Horizons. Ceramic sculpture, 2024-25

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's abstract oil stick painting Androsia

    Androsia 1 & 2. Sennelier oil stick on board. 2026

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's small sculpture made of clay and beeswax pictured outdoors in Greece

    Unseen Mountain 1. Mixed media sculpture (clay and beeswax), 2026

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's abstract and colourful oil painting

    Sister Moon. Oil on canvas, 2025

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's oil pastel painting from the Series the Island Comes, the Island Goes

    Only a Feather Floating, from the oil pastel series The Island Comes, the Island Goes. 2025

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's abstract oil painting

    My Cat in the Sun thinks like a Mountain. Oil on canvas, 2024.

The Andros Series

  • Finnish Artist Satu Metsola's three abstract oil stick paintings on display outdoors in the Greek island Andros

    Androck I, II & III. Sennelier oil stick on canvas. 60 × 90 cm each. 2026. Photos: George Chiristanidis.

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's two small scale sculptures "Unseen Mountain" series, pictured outdoors in Greek island Andros

    Unseen Mountain 1 & 2. Mixed media (clay, wax). 2026. 20 × 14 × 12 cm / 16 × 15 × 10 cm. Photo: George Chiristanidis.

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's two abstract oil stick paintings. Based on the shiny rocks and stones in the Greek island Andros

    Androsia 1 & 2. Sennelier oil stick on board. 2025. 30 × 24 cm each. Photo: George Chiristanidis.

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's various oil pastel paintings displayed on the table

    The Andros series. Oil pastel paintings.

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola working with her sculpture outdoors

    Working outside with beeswax and pigments

  • Satu metsola's oil painting Androck III

    Androck III, 2026. 

The artists of the Amalia Gardens Residency approached the nature of Andros as a living archive of memory, where stone, dried flowers, aromatic plants, and traces of human presence come together to form a new herbarium. During June 2026, Amalia Gardens Non-profit Civil Company launched its third artist residency, entitled “Xiranthoi, Rooted in Stone: The Herbarium of the Aegean”, bringing together seven artists on the island of Andros. Sergej Andreevski (Skopje), Alexis Avlamis (Athens – Kefalonia), Nikos Kaskouras (Athens), Chrysa Liarmakopoulou (Athens – Andros), Satu Metsola (Helsinki), Nikola Pijanmanov (Strumica) and Maria Todeschini (Venice) explored the island’s natural landscape and flora, creating new works of art that reimagine the idea of a herbarium of the future through their research and residency at Amalia Gardens Residency in Vitali, Andros.

Exhibition:

“Xiranthoi, Rooted in Stone: The Herbarium of the Aegean” Batsi Cultural Centre, Batsi, Andros, Greece Exhibition Dates: 1–30 AUGUST 2026

https://amaliagardens.gr/en/gallery/2026

Selection of oil paintings 2024–2026

  • Satu Metsola's colourful abstract oil painting

    I Call You a Bird. Oil on canvas. 2026. 80 × 60 cm

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's colourful, abstract oil painting

    Sister Moon. 2025. Oil on canvas. 80 x 50 cm. Private collection.

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's abstract oil painting

    My Cat in the Sun Thinking Like a Mountain, 2024. Oil on canvas. 70 x 50 cm. Private collection.

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's abstract oil painting

    Late Blooming. 2025. Oil on canvas. 80 x 60 cm.

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's colourful abstract oil painting

    Mountain Mover, 2024. Oil on canvas. 70 x 50 cm. Private collection.

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's abstract colourful oil painting

    This I Have Written to You. Oil on canvas 2024. 81 x 65 cm.

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's abstract yellow oil painting

    Kind of a Comedy. Oil on canvas, 2024. 50x40 cm.

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's abstract colourful oil painting

    In the midst of your sorrow you did not notice how you watered the empty ground. Oil on canvas, 2024. 50x40 cm.

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's abstract oil painting

    I have left. Oil on canvas, 2024. 50x40 cm.

  • An abstract impressionist painting of a landscape with a blue sky and water, green trees and vegetation, and yellow and orange reflections in water. Oil colour painting by Finnish artist Satu Metsola

    The Weeper, 2024. Oil on canvas, 70 x 50 cm

In addition to standing in front of the canvas, I practice meditation in nature. Walking or sitting on a rock, where inanimate things, such as trees, stones, water and wind can create a sense of connection and open a non-verbal dialogue with other species and with the unknown.

In my paintings, nature is always present as an element; it enters by way of reference, as a current, a spring, a stream, the open sea. I am fascinated by nature in its beauty, and I am learning to listen to its alluring, soothing, and unpredictable language. The paintings however are abstract, and there is no need to see or experience them in any particular way.

In my work, the ability to pause, intuitive observation, and disciplined routine are central. I believe that creativity arises when the artist dares to be present with the work without fixed goals and allows intuition to guide the process. In this way, a space is created in which the work can grow freely and begin to guide itself. Intuition lies at the core of my practice: it directs the movement of the hand, the choices, and the decisions that I cannot always explain through reason.

The Island Comes, The Island Goes

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's abstract oil pastel painting from the series The Island Comes the island goes

    Like a black moon you come over me. From the Series The Island Comes, The Island Goes. Oil pastel on Hahnemühle Ingres paper, 24 x 31 cm each. 2025.

  • An abstract painting with textured brushstrokes featuring dark colors like black, deep purple, and hints of light in the center, creating a swirling, vibrant pattern. Oil pastel painting by Finnish artist Satu Metsola

    You grow angry at the avian song

  • A painting of a water scene, a body of water like a lake or ocean, with brushstrokes creating a textured appearance. The overall color palette includes various shades of blue, with pinkish and purple hues around the edges. Artist Satu Metsola

    The mirror that shatters everything

  • A painting of a water scene, a body of water like a lake or ocean, with brushstrokes creating a textured appearance. The overall color palette includes various shades of blue. Artist Satu Metsola, series the Island comes, the island goes

    The swans leave from me

  • A textured painting of a night sky featuring a glowing full moon, a mountain, and a bright star, created with pastel paints. Finnish artist Satu Metsola

    A new ritual

  • Abstract oil pastel painting with shades of blue, black, gray, and hints of white, featuring textured and layered brushstrokes. Finnish artist Satu Metsola

    The eclipse we did not see

  • An oil pastel painting of a dark night sky with a large, pale moon and scattered stars. Finnish artist Satu Metsola

    Two moons being

  • An abstract oil pastel painting with a blue circle in the center, surrounded by black, brown, and gold textures. Finnish artist Satu Metsola

    A pond of two stones

  • An abstract oil pastel painting with various shades of deep blue and black, with a textured appearance created by numerous small, irregular strokes. Finnish artist Satu Metsola

    Only a feather floating

  • An abstract oil pastel painting with various shades of blue and gold, with a textured appearance created by numerous small, irregular strokes. Finnish artist Satu Metsola

    Where do the birds go?

  • An abstract oil pastel painting with various shades of grey and gold, with a textured appearance created by numerous small, irregular strokes. Finnish artist Satu Metsola

    The island comes

  • Close-up of a textured, weathered surface with various shades of brown, gray, and hints of blue. Oil pastel painting of an island by Finnish artist Satu Metsola

    The island goes

  • An impressionistic painting of a body of water, possibly a river or ocean, with textured, flowing blue waves, incorporating various shades of blue, white, and hints of purple. Artist Satu Metsola

    Let the words wait

The island Comes, The island Goes is a series of oil pastel paintings, which were created in the Korppoo archipelago and in Helsinki. The series does not progress chronologically; rather, it is a weave of experienced connection between humanity and nature, as part of a larger whole, at the threshold of letting go and new beginnings. The series consists of sixteen oil pastel paintings and lyrical texts that have taken shape simultaneously alongside the paintings.

The series started during the EcoSenda residency “Affective Arrangements” on the island of Korppoo, Finland, September 2025. EcoSenda Network: Royal Academy Den Haag, Estonian Academy of Arts, Turku Arts Academy, Academy of Media Arts Cologne.

Finnish artist Satu Metsola is seen with her artwork titled "Until We Meet Again", showcased during the London Fashion Week official schedule September 2025 opening evening event Fashion Crossover London Presents: The World Gallery on September 21, 2025, in London, England. Location Home House private membership club in Marylebone. Photos by Nicky J Sims/Getty Images.

A woman with long red hair standing next to an abstract landscape painting on an easel in a room with wooden floors and a wooden cabinet. Finnish artist Satu Metsola standing in front of her painting during London fashion week, wearing Vimma dress
A landscape painting of a colorful sky with clouds, mountains, and a body of water, on an easel in front of a wooden cabinet. Abstract oil colour painting by Finnish artist Satu Metsola

The Shawoman series

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's two small-scale ceramic sculptures from the Shawoman series

    "Shawoman III", 2024, 28 x 12 cm & "Goddess of the Two Horizons", 2024–2025, ceramic sculpture, 20 x 13 cm

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's ceramic sculpture from the Shawoman series

    Goddess of the Two Horizons, 2024–2025, ceramic sculpture, 20 x 13 cm

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's ceramic sculpture from the Shawoman series

    Rest as a Bird. 2024–2025, ceramic sculpture, 20 x 13 cm

  • A textured, abstract sculpture by Satu Metsola with a mix of blue, green, and rusty brown colors, featuring rough, layered surfaces and flowing, organic shapes. Rest as a bird.

    Rest as a Bird. 2024–2025, ceramic sculpture, 20 x 13 cm

The Shawoman series originated from an earlier body of ceramic figurative sculptures modelled from the nude. The subsequent sculptures were created from memories of the human body, but I have listened to the clay and allowed it to take the form it wanted. The sculptures in this series are meant to be viewed from every angle, as they transform their appearance depending on the viewer's perspective.

Exhibition views

  • Contemporary dance performance FOOTNOTES #3. Coreographer Favela Vera Ortiz, dancer Laura Lehtinen, artworks Satu Metsola at Galleria Dromig in Helsinki. March 2025.

    Contemporary dance performance FOOTNOTES #3. Coreographer Favela Vera Ortiz, dancer Laura Lehtinen, artworks Satu Metsola at Galleria Dromig in Helsinki. March 2025.

  • Installation view, Galleria Dromig Helsinki, March 2025. artist Satu Metsola

    Installation view, Galleria Dromig Helsinki, March 2025

  • Installation view, Galleria Dromig Helsinki, March 2025. Artist Satu Metsola

    Installation view, Galleria Dromig Helsinki, March 2025

  • Installation view, Helsinki, 2024. Young man looking at Satu Metsola's large oil painting.

    Installation view

  • Installation view, Helsinki, 2024. Two people looking at Satu Metsola's abstract oil paintings

    Installation view

  • Finnish contemporary artist Satu Metsola posing in front of her large artwork, yellow oil painting on canvas

    With the painting Dew, Summernight Song. 2024.

  • Satu Metsola's artworks, series of oil pastel paintings framed in the gallery

    Installation view, oil pastel paintings from the series The Island Comes, the Island Goes. Köysiratagalleria, Turku 2025

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's oil painting installed in London during the London fashion week 2025

    Installation view in London during the London fashion week 2025, at Home House private membership club in Marylebone

Selection of oil paintings 2023–2025

  • Finnish artist Satu Metsola's abstract oil painting The Queen's bed

    The Queen's Bed. 2025. Oil on canvas. 60 x 80 cm

  • Satu Metsola's abstract oil painting artwork

    Until We Meet Again. 2025. Oil on canvas. 50 x 70 cm

  • Satu Metsola's abstract oil painting

    Flowing (small pioneer island). Oil on canvas, 2023. 73 x 92 cm.

  • Satu Metsola's large abstract, yellow oil painting

    Dew, Summernight Song. Oil on canvas, 2024. 110 x 160 cm. Private Collection.

  • Abstract painting with warm colors including pink, orange, yellow, with green and purple accents.

    The New Ritual. 2025. Oil on canvas 110 x 160 cm

Let’s Go to the Source

  • From the series Let's Go to the Source: The Eye That Sees and Does Not See II. Oil pastel on paper, 2023. 72 x 104 cm. Artist Satu Metsola

    From the series Let's Go to the Source: The Eye That Sees and Does Not See II. Oil pastel on paper, 2023. 72 x 104 cm.

  • From the series Let's Go to the Source. Oil pastel on paper, 2024. 72 x 104 cm. Artist Satu Metsola

    From the series Let's Go to the Source. Oil pastel on paper, 2024. 72 x 104 cm.

  • Close-up of a textured pink, purple, and blue abstract painting with a dark circular shape in the center.

    From the series Let's Go to the Source. Oil pastel on paper, 2024. 72 x 104 cm.

  • Satu Metsola's red oil pastel artwork, with golden hues, abstract painting

    From the series Let's Go to the Source. Oil pastel on paper, 2024. 72 x 104 cm

  • Artist Satu Metsola's oil pastel abstract painting, artwork with blue and green colours

    From the series Let's Go to the Source. Oil pastel on paper, 2023. 72 x 104 cm.

Please contact me directly for projects or to inquire about purchasing my work.

metsolasatu@gmail.com

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CV: https://www.satumetsola.com/about

Interested in my curatorial work? Learn more here: https://www.satumetsola.com/curatorial

Now:

  • Meilahden Taidepäivystys “Tuntematon”

    24.7. - 9.8.2026 Stogis Galleria, Tukholmankatu 10, 00290 Helsinki, Finland

    Gallery open Fri–Sun 13–18.

  • “Xiranthoi, Rooted in Stone: The Herbarium of the Aegean”

    Batsi Cultural Centre, Batsi, Andros, Greece

    1. – 30.8. 2026

    Opening: 1 August, 8:00 PM

    Opening Hours: Tuesday–Friday, 7:00–10:00 PM, Saturday & Sunday, 11:00 AM–1:00 PM and 7:00–10:00 PM, Closed on Mondays.

    https://amaliagardens.gr/en/gallery/2026

Upcoming:

Recent shows:

  • Meilahden Taidepäivystys “Luonnoton”, 3.-19.7.2026 Stogis Galleria, Helsinki

  • OLEMUS, Köysiratagalleria, Turku

    27.11.-7.12.2025

  • Fashion Crossover London presents The World gallery - Fashion Show, officially listed under London Fashion Week September, London UK 2025

  • Solo exhibition “Ajattele kuin vuori” Galleria Dromig, Helsinki 3.3.-29.3.2025

  • Solo exhibition “Menkäämme lähteelle”, Galleria Uusi Kipinä, Lahti 15.1.-2.2.2025

Read more:

House of Coco Magazine, June 2024: Art & Balance: Satu Metsola on Curating, Creativity, and Finding Harmony Through Meditation

Cover of British Vogue magazine featuring Florence Pugh in a black dress with puffed shoulders and sheer lace details, standing in a room with beige paneled walls and a pink textured chair.

Featured in the British VOGUE Magazine October 2024, on the page Vogue’s Gallery

A collage of various abstract paintings and artworks from multiple artists, each accompanied by a number and descriptive text.

Featured in the British VOGUE Magazine July 2024, on the page Vogue’s Gallery

Vogue magazine cover featuring two models, one with curly hair wearing a denim jacket and white top, the other with braided hair and tattoos, dressed in black. Text highlights include 'Style & Sound,' 'The Big Reveal: How Topless Got Chic,' and 'The Summer of Central Cee.'
A collage of various abstract paintings and artworks from multiple artists, each accompanied by a number and descriptive text.

Featured in the British VOGUE Magazine June 2024, on the page Vogue’s Gallery

Vogue magazine cover featuring Sophie Turner in a yellow dress with long, straight blonde hair and tattoos on her left arm, against a plain background.
A colorful abstract painting featuring a bird with vibrant orange, pink, blue, and green tones against a dark, starry background.

Featured in the British VOGUE Magazine May 2024, on the page Vogue’s Gallery

Vogue magazine cover featuring a woman wearing a black jacket with red stripes, plaid shorts, and sneakers, standing against a plain background.
A collage of various contemporary artworks featuring portraits, abstract paintings, and mixed media art, with some pieces featuring vibrant colors and others monochrome or muted tones.
Korppoo 2025. Photo: Johanna Kiiskinen.

Korppoo 2025. Photo: Johanna Kiiskinen.

We Are. Oil on canvas, 2022. 92 x 73 cm.

We Are. Oil on canvas, 2022. 92 x 73 cm.