Born in 1977 in Helsinki, Finland, Elina Salminen lives and works in Brussels, Belgium.

Salminen’s works are hybrid. They are both paintings and objects, sculptures and installations, light and shadow, floating and barely palpable, yet we are drawn to unveil what lies behind them or else, within the color itself. Salminen surprises us as viewers and we question what we see. Her works play with space and time, they move beyond the surface and reflect on her fascination with color as an intangible source of light. With her paintings, Salminen delicately applies monochromatic hues on edges and corners, then covers the emptiness with translucent materials such as cloth or glass. There is no paint on the surface of the painting, only a reflection of the color that hides behind. Utterly romantic, her works engage us in a conversation about protection and warmth. They are abstracted minimalist compositions that entail infinite meanings, each altered with time and space.

Elina Salminen

Acrylic on wood and Cotton cloth 
2017
A Window is an architectural piece, it defies perspective, it alludes to the perception of color and space. The title suggests the existence of an opening inside the painting, there is something to see beyond the vertical surface of the work. Salminen cuts the wood in sections, each with their own color reflecting through the cotton cloth.

Description

Location

With a certificate of authenticity signed by the Artist.

Authentication 

A window_LIGHT

A Window FullFrontal

A Window_Closeup1

A Window CloseUp2

Painting

A Window

Acrylic on wood and Cotton cloth 
2019
Aperture is an opening to a perceptual experience, an invitation to contemplate the emptiness inside the painting, revealed by color. Typical of Salminen's practice, the work results from the intersection between color, light and reflection, at the crossroads between the visible and the invisible.

Authentication

Aperture 1_LIGHT

Aperture 1_Close1

Aperture 1_Close2

Aperture 1

Acrylic on wood and Cotton cloth 
2019 
Aperture is an opening to a perceptual experience, an invitation to contemplate the emptiness inside the painting, revealed by color. Typical of Salminen's practice, the work results from the intersection between color, light and reflection, at the crossroads between the visible and the invisible.

Aperture 2_LIGHT

Aperture 2 Close Up

Aperture 2 Close1

Screen Shot 2021-04-22 at 9.02.29 PM

Aperture 2

Acrylic on wood and Cotton cloth 
2018
Blue Quadrilateral is intended to be a neutral composition - its presence does not detract from the illusion brought by the painting. Putting words on it, seeing it, makes it disappear. Once again, Salminen plays with light and perception by making the invisible visible, by reflecting colors through the cotton cloth.

blue quad_crop

Blue Quadrilateral Close Up

Blue Quadrilateral Closeup2

Blue Quadrilateral InSitu

Installation

Blue Quadrilateral

Acrylic on wood and Cotton cloth 
2020
In Finnish, Kangastus means 'mirage' or 'illusion' and Kangas refers to the 'cloth'. The title of the painting, therefore, brings together two defining aspects of Salminen’s work, the illusion and perception of color with the delicate cloth that reflects light. As part of an intimate series created by Salminen, this work epitomises how the artist plays around with both the visible and the invisible.

Kangastus 2_LIGHT2

Kangastus 2 CloseUp2

Kangastus 2 magenta

Kangastus 2 magenta detail photo Hadrien Bruaux

Kangastus 2 magenta detail2 photo Hadrien Bruaux

Kangastus 2

Acrylic on wood and Cotton cloth 
2020
In Finnish, Kangastus means 'mirage' or 'illusion' and Kangas refers to the 'cloth'. The title of the painting, therefore, brings together two defining aspects of Salminen’s work, the illusion and perception of color with the delicate cloth that reflects light. As part of an intimate series created by Salminen, this work epitomises how the artist plays around with both the visible and the invisible.

A Window

Elina Salminen

Also by Elina Salminen

Aperture 1

Aperture 2

Blue Quadrilateral

Kangastus 2

Kangastus 3

Kangastus 4

Kangastus 5

Kangastus 6

Kangastus 7