Kreetta Järvenpää

Mon 26.8.2024

I’m on a journey with my own language of flowers

Järvenpää paints flowers with her camera. In her images, flowers and plants are expressive and shaped by time. Since 2016, she has been creating floral arrangements and photographing them to capture every detail. Everything must be perfect before the picture is taken. The photograph is not meant to look like a photograph at all—her painterly images are windows into a blooming fantasy world.

In her twenties, Järvenpää vowed that she would never have a garden—it was far too much work. A home garden and houseplants were her mother’s passion. When her mother passed away 20 years later, the need to work with flowers and plants became overwhelming. The lost connection to flowers and plants returned as a passion to photograph them.

“Suddenly, I understood what I had inherited. Flowers became my means of expression. They are the language through which I know how to express myself. At first, my work was a way to connect with my late mother, but over time, my own personal approach has only grown stronger. I love the freedom to create a wonderful world. Working with flowers is very meditative and calming for me,” Järvenpää explains.

Kreetta Järvenpää, born in 1974, is a Helsinki-based artist specializing in photographing flowers and plants. Inspired by 17th-century painting, Järvenpää creates contemporary floral fantasies. She holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi. Järvenpää has been exhibiting her photographs since 2017, and her work has been featured in publications such as Financial Times HTSI, Schöner Wohnen, and Veranda. Her works are included in museum and gallery collections as well as in private collections both in Finland and abroad.

Currently, Järvenpää collaborates with several different entities, including Essenza Home, Putinki Helsinki, Pure Waste, Mustila Puutarha, and the Finnish Association for Children and Youth Gardening. Järvenpää has also played a role in the creation of the Finnish Slow Flowers Finland association. In her work and art, Järvenpää aims to use the most eco-friendly cut flowers possible.

www.kreettajarvenpaa.com

www.kreettakreetta.com

@kreettakreetta 

The studio is located in Vallila, Helsinki.

ARTWORK