Biography
Annu Vertanen is one of Finland's most internationally renowned printmakers, recognized as a pioneer who has expanded the expression of printmaking and integrated it with other forms of contemporary art. Born in 1960, she has held the position of Professor and Head of Printmaking at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Helsinki since 2016 -- Finland's only professorship in the discipline.
Vertanen's preferred technique is woodcut, and she is a master of traditional Japanese water-based woodcut, or mokuhanga. Layering is central to her process: she combines multiple thin printing papers or overlapping print layers on paper to create works of remarkable depth and luminosity. Her prints feature characteristics of the Finnish landscape filtered through Japanese design aesthetics, producing compositions defined by a simplified graphic look, strong use of color, and clear boundaries between forms.
Though Vertanen studied painting initially, she became increasingly drawn to printmaking -- first as a means to translate her distinctive color sensibility from her canvases, and then as an autonomous art form with its own expressive possibilities. Over her long career, she has moved beyond conventional printmaking to encompass watercolor paintings, video, and sculpture, always maintaining the layered, graphic sensibility that characterizes her printed work.
Her Cellular Matrix exhibition at the Jyvaskyla Art Museum showcased the full breadth of her career, featuring prints alongside works in other media. The exhibition demonstrated how her investigation of overlapping, translucent layers extends across disciplines, whether she is working with ink on paper, moving images, or three-dimensional forms.
Vertanen's work is held in major international collections including the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki, the Albertina Museum in Vienna, the University of Alberta Museum in Canada, the Ohio University Print Collection, the Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia, the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Amells Art Collection in Sweden, and the Norwegian Directorate for Education. She has participated in the Global Print Biennial and numerous international exhibitions, and is listed on the Mokuhanga Magic Mokumap directory and as a contributor to Mokublad, the mokuhanga research publication.
Key Facts
- Active Period
- 1960
- Nationality
- 🇫🇮Finland
- Movement
- Contemporary Mokuhanga
Frequently Asked Questions
Annu Vertanen is one of Finland's most internationally renowned printmakers, recognized as a pioneer who has expanded the expression of printmaking and integrated it with other forms of contemporary art. Born in 1960, she has held the position of Professor and Head of Printmaking at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Helsinki since 2016 -- Finland's only professorship in the discipline.
Annu Vertanen was active born in 1960. They were associated with the Contemporary Mokuhanga movement.
Annu Vertanen's work was shaped by the Contemporary Mokuhanga tradition in Japanese woodblock printmaking. Contemporary Mokuhanga: Contemporary mokuhanga (literally "wood-block print") encompasses artists working from approximately 1970 to the present who continue or reinvent traditional Japanese woodblock printing techniques.
Annu Vertanen is a contemporary printmaker whose work has been acquired by museum collections, confirming institutional recognition. Museum representation supports collector confidence. Prices range from $200 for smaller works to $5,000 for major compositions. Most prints sell in the $500–$2,000 range. Museum-collected contemporary printmakers represent a strong value proposition, as institutional validation often precedes market appreciation.