my name is emmi ohraniemi,

I’m a full time artist and creative entrepreneur.

My intention is to tell stories about life and the human experience through art, while seeking a deeper sense of belonging and meaning with my work.

 

beauty can be found even in the rawness of life

I’m an abstract artist with painting as a primary medium. I continually explore different ways to create stories of life through abstraction, words, poetry and video. My paintings are minimalist with strong, three-dimensional textures — each piece carrying a deeper meaning beneath the surface. I create commissioned pieces tailored to homes and public spaces, and I occasionally facilitate events and retreats that emphasize creativity and slowing down to feel more.

Through my art, I explore embodied experience, revealing an emotive, layered portrait of humanity's beauty and interconnectedness.

Art has been a part of my life since childhood, but it wasn’t until later — after a burnout forced me to meet myself, re-evaluete my values and direction — that I truly returned to it. And I’m grateful for that shift.

Nowadays I slow down and observe the human experience, in all its pain and joy finding inspiration both in the ordinary and extraordinary. Through my art, I invite others to pause, slow down and feel – whatever it is it makes them feel. I believe everyone has their place and an authentic, unique meaning in this world.

I’ve been working as an artist since 2016/2017, and full-time for the past four years. Over the years, my works have appeared as commissions, collections, series, and in exhibitions as well as art rentals.

  • Solo exhibitions:

    • Fyyri, Kirkkonummi
      13.11.-7.12.2024

    • Walleniuksen Wapriikki, Juupajoki,
      10.9.-7.10.2024

    • Helsinki Outlet, Äärellä, 1.6.-30.6.2023

    • Tikkurilan kirjasto, Hengähdyksiä, collaboration with Sielun sopukoita/Susanna Jussila, 20.2. - 11.3.2023

    • Relove Töölöntori,
      1.9.-31.10.2022

    Group exhibitions:

    • Kaapelitehdas, Puristamo, Suomen taiteilijat ry, Loisto, 1.-14.4.2024

    • Kaapelitehdas, Valssaamo, Suomen taiteilijat ry, 9.8.-28.8.2022

    • Kuusankoskitalo, Valon taikaa, Suomen taiteiljat ry, 3.5.-28.5.2022

    • Galleria Fogga, Jos metsään haluat mennä nyt niin takuulla yllätyt, 14.8.-2.9.2021

    • Kaapelitehdas, Valssaamo, Suomen taiteilijat ry, vuosinäyttely, 10.8.-29.8.2021

    • Galleria Fogga, Elämän monet kerrostumat, 30.1.-18.2.2021

    Publications:

    • Hitaammassa tahdissa -cards, Emmi Ohraniemi, 2025, Hidasta elämää

      The designs of the cards are based on paintings

    • Lempeyttä keholle –cards, Emmi Ohraniemi & Susanna Jussila, 2021, Hidasta elämää

      The designs of the cards are based on paintings

    • Kotona kehossa, Emmi Ohraniemi & Susanna Jussila, 2021, Otava / Hidasta elämää. Non-fiction book

      The book's visual design is largely based on paintings

    Video installations exhibited publicly:

    Kiertokulku, Kaikki se, mikä tekee sinusta kokonaisen -kokoelma

    Walleniuksen Wapriikki, main gallery 11.9.-6.10.2024

    Collections of work

    A little piece of paradise, 2025
    Kaikki se, mikä tekee sinusta kokonaisen, 2024
    Hiljaisuus, 2024
    Hyvän kosketuksia, 2023
    Äärellä, 2023
    Elements, 2023
    Rose Garden, 2022
    Hengähdyksiä I-III & Säröjä ja säihkettä, collaboration with Sielun sopukoita/Susanna Jussila, 2021, 2022, 2023

    Emmis works are held with private collectors around Finland and USA.

  • My career as an artist didn't start with suffering, as the stereotype of an artist likes to think. It began with liberation from it.

    When I was suffering, I didn't paint for 15 years. It was only after I'd begin the journey back home to myself that I picked up the cheapest canvas and paint because I finally felt free enough to do so. The calling was too big to ignore.

    It was like coming back home to something that was there all along.

    The first years, I tried to catch up with it, my hands not quite yet there to express the vision or the feeling after such a long break, but I kept going, changing, exploring, feeling, and living as the new me.

    And still, life is life, and I create from the darkness too. Not to dwell on it, but to find a way to express something that doesn't have words or to find meaning in what doesn't make sense.

    It's about transforming.
    It's about finding beauty where we might not usually see it, in the endings and the beginnings.

    My artistic journey started from personal liberation, and it still continues to be so. Creating is a way of living now.

    It's how I find the meaning of existence. This is what makes me free.

  • Embodiment:

    My working method is embodied, and in my occasional events I often guide movement or yoga practices focused on somatics and nervous system care.

    In my guidance, I emphasize the wisdom of listening to the body, somatics, and the seamless integration of soundscape, instruction, and movement.

    Embodied education background:

    • Authentic Embodied Flow 200h, Satu Tuomela & Elisa Kuuttila

    • Depth, Advanced Yoga Teacher Training 100h, Satu Tuomela

    • Alchemist, Advanced Yoga Teacher Training 100h, Satu Tuomela

    Writing:

    I write a blog called Hitaammassa tahdissa ("At a Slower Pace") on the Hidasta elämää -website, and together with Susanna Jussila, we have published the book Kotona kehossa (At Home in the Body) as well as the Lempeyttä keholle (Gentleness to the Body) activity cards. In 2025 new publication, Hitaammassa tahdissa (At the Slower Pace) were published by Hidasta elämää

Contact via info@emmiohraniemi.com or from the form below.

Kotona kehossa
Kotona kehossa -blogi Hidasta elämää -sivustolla
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