ABOUT

Niko Kyöstiö, a creative from Helsinki, with a diverse background has spent almost two decades exploring different artistic projects. After studying interior architecture and furniture design at the Lahti Design Institute in his native country Finland, he studied architecture at the Aalto University of Arts and Design in Helsinki, ending up working in tv and movie industry. He is passionate about shaping spaces, interiors, light, materials and atmospheres.

In his most recent work, he integrates natural materials and organic pigments, often using unconventional media such as amate paper and grana cochineal. In this way, he fuses modern expression with traditional and artisanal materials from different continents and cultures, with full awareness of avoiding cultural inappropriation.

The work he made in Indonesia, for example, saw him embrace local materials, such as banana paper and organic pigments from eastern java. That continued the unending inspiration from nature and traditions culminating in a combination of geometry, harmony and classical education.

Niko Kyöstiö has a penchant for providing the viewer with subtle surprises. While his works may evoke a sense of serenity at first glance, a closer look reveals details that add layers of intrigue dialogue, humor and depth to his creations.

In these unexpected details, he also plays with ultraviolet light, referencing the limitations of human vision and the way certain elements of nature are perceived by different species. Under black light, many of his pieces take on an additional organic dimension in the similar way the bee or the bird sees the flowers or each other standing on very different kind of foundation than a human eye can perceive.