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 
2022
X carries on its surface a movement of fading pastel colors, capturing a moment in time between color and its reflection. The invisible colors, delicately hidden behind the cloth, appear on the surface of the work through illusion and reflection, once again showing Salminen's fascination with color as an intangible source of light. With her works, 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.

Description

Location

With a certificate of authenticity signed by the Artist.

Authentication 

X Close 3

X Close 2

Installation

Painting

Acrylic on wood and Cotton cloth 
2022
Square Enough carries on its surface a multitude of fading pastel colors, capturing a moment in time between color and its reflection. The invisible colors, delicately hidden behind the cloth, appear on the surface of the work through illusion and reflection, once again showing Salminen's fascination with color as an intangible source of light. With her most recent series of works, Salminen multiplies the layers of monochromatic hues that she applies on edges and corners. Once again, there is no paint on the surface of the painting, only a reflection of the many colors that hide behind.

SquareEnoughFull

SquareEnoughClose2

SquareEnoughClose3

SquareEnoughClose

SquareEnough_InSitu

Square Enough

Acrylic on wood and Cotton cloth 
2022
Circles II carries on its surface a multitude of fading pastel colors, capturing a moment in time between color and its reflection. The invisible colors, delicately hidden behind the cloth, appear on the surface of the work through illusion and reflection, once again showing Salminen's fascination with color as an intangible source of light. With her most recent series of works, Salminen multiplies the layers of monochromatic hues that she applies on edges and corners. Once again, there is no paint on the surface of the painting, only a reflection of the many colors that hide behind.

Circles Full

Circles Close2

Circles Close3

Circles 2InSitu

Circles II

Acrylic on Wood and Cotton cloth 
2021
Looking Forward Pink is 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. What one sees is not paint on the surface of the work, it is rather a mere reflection of what is left unseen, revealed through the subtle cotton cloth that reflects both light and color.

Looking fwd pink recropped centered

LookingForwardPinkClose2

LookingForwardPinkInSitu

Looking Forward Pink

Acrylic on Wood and Cotton cloth 
2021
Looking Forward Blue is 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. What one sees is not paint on the surface of the work, it is rather a mere reflection of what is left unseen, revealed through the subtle cotton cloth that reflects both light and color.

Looking fwd blue recropped centered

Looking Forward BlueClose3

Looking Forward BlueClose

Looking Forward Blue

Dyed cloth 
Variable Dimensions 
Available on Special Commission
(sun) is an in-situ wall installation, an ephemeral painting made with multiple layers of translucid cloth or tulle. Its flag-like shape is almost organic, like the Sun itself, with warm hues that fade with time through each hour of the day. Once again, Salminen plays with light, color, reflection and makes the invisible visible.

In-situ installation/ Available on Special Commission

Authenticity

(sun) en face

(sun)

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 4

Elina Salminen

Also by Elina Salminen

X

Square Enough

Circles II

Looking Forward Pink

Looking Forward Blue

(sun)

Kangastus 7

Kangastus 6

Kangastus 5