Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Nordic Design Special – Finnish Art, Craft & Design
Left painting: How can I make pictures like this? 180 x 200cm, 2011. Middle painting: Photo montage on plex, Elise in Monet’s garden, 50 x 60 cm, 2018. Right painting: Play begins, curtains down!, 180 x 200cm, 2011.
A castle of art Bonga castle is a piece of art itself. Today, it is filled with vibrant colours and different textures as it functions as professor and artist Riitta Nelimarkka’s art studio and gallery.
“I work intuitively, and the strong colours inspire me, and I want to experiment with new colour scales.”
By Mari Koskinen | Photos: Bonga Gallery RN
Nelimarkka has had numerous large exhibitions around the world. She has studied painting in Paris, film in Stockholm and music theory and pi-
Nelimarkka and her husband Jaakko Seeck found the castle when they were looking for a work space in many different places, including France and Italy. “Bonga was originally an Art Nouveau castle, but it was transformed by the second owners to the current Neoclassical style,” explains Nelimarkka. “The castle has always been privately owned, and we are the third owners. It was in bad shape and resembled more of a ghost house than a castle.” The couple bought the 2,000-squaremetre castle to use as an artistic work 34 | Issue 119 | December 2018
space, but the project grew to now also include a large art gallery, which is home to a unique collection of Nelimarkka’s art.
Strong views and colours As an artist, Riitta Nelimarkka, 70, has always chosen her own path. She is known for her wild and independent vision and energetic colours. She combines her classical skills with a zest for life. “My art emerges from real life, reflecting its joys and sorrows, conflicts and shocks, its normality and its chain of coincidences,” Nelimarkka explains.
Riitta Nelimarkka.