Aino Tillonen ^{Emerging artist}

Artist is based in: Finland

Aino Tillonen (b. 2001, Helsinki) is a visual artist working primarily with painting. In her recent figurative paintings and sculptural painting objects, she explores the gaze, the boundary between the private and the public, and memory. Her works are further informed by references to art history, questions of identity, and a sense of drama borrowed from theatre. An empathetic approach to subject matter and process runs throughout her practice. Tillonen is currently completing her Master’s studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Helsinki. She has participated in numerous exhibitions in Finland and abroad. Her work has been shown, for example, in Amos Rex and Kunst Haus Wien. In the spring semester of 2025, she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. From 2026 to 2028, Tillonen will live and work in a scholarship studio apartment awarded by the Finnish Artists’ Studio Foundation, EMMA, and the City of Espoo in Tapiola, together with visual artist Paavo Kärki. In 2026, Tillonen was awarded a grant from the Anita Snellman Foundation, and her works are included in the collection of the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation.