Sanna Annukka is an artist based in East Sussex, U.K.

Using a pallet of subtly shifting natural hues, her paintings explore abstraction and playful pattern as an emotional response to the forms and rhythms of the natural world — the rays of of the sun, reflections in a pool, solstice, and equinox.

Compositionally many paintings take on totemic or talismanic forms, invoking the power and significance that these symbols have held across cultures and time periods.

Surface texture forms a paramount facet of the painting process and through the repetitive layering of printed, scraped and sanded paint, an intricate tapestry of texture evolves into a subtle, stone-like three dimensionality.

Annukka’s works are held in private collections worldwide.
Commissions will be considered. Please get in touch.

Bio:

British/Finnish artist Sanna Annukka studied at the University of Brighton, where she discovered a passion for printmaking which has informed much of her subsequent practice. Growing up, many childhood summers were spent north of the Arctic circle and these formative experiences instilled a love and reverence for the rawness of the natural world which is an ever present force in her work.

Graduation led to a successful career as a freelance illustrator, working with clients like Vogue, Island Records, Selfridges and Nordstrom. She has illustrated three books, The Fir Tree, The Snow Queen, and The Nutcracker; classic fairy tales, published by Penguin Random House and translated into seven different languages. 

In 2008 Sanna joined the roster of designers for Finnish textile and fashion brand Marimekko, designing patterns for interiors and homeware. The same year she was invited by the Finnish Design Museum to create huge textile wall hangings for their exhibition ‘FennoFolk - a collection of new nordic oddity.’

Her recent work sees a return to the organic process she fell in love with in the print studios at university. Her paintings take the form of elaborate mono prints, building patinas with layers of ink by printing onto board or canvas. This mode of working was informed by her time making ceramics and takes inspiration from the organic, earthy glaze finishes she explored during this period of working in relief.