Harry Salmi
Biography
Harry Salmi (born 1980) is an experienced visual artist from Lahti, Finland and his work has been exhibited in both personal and group exhibitions both in Finland and abroad. Harry started with arts as a hobby at the Hollola School of Fine Arts for Children and Youth in 1986. Along the way to being a visual artist, Harrys wild youth years went by painting graffiti. He also studied graphic design and worked in advertising agencies for a short time. Later, studies at the Lahti Institute of Fine Arts brought him professional skills and a university degree in 2011, Harry graduated as a visual artist (BA Fine Arts). He felt strongly that he had found his own place. In Harry's paintings, abstract contemporary art meets and transports the layers of street art and surrealism.
Polarbear, 2022, acrylic on canvas, 90 x 90 cm
Harry gets his inspiration from varied international abstract art and jazz music and hip hop culture. Harry has been painting art for 35 years and hopes to paint at least another 35 years. Harry spends his free time, especially in the summer, at his familys summer cottage on the shore of lake Isojärvi, Central Finland. He feels that the time spent there relaxes and strengthens his creativity and brings contrast to hectic city life.
Proactive, 2024, acrylic on canvas, 90 x 90 cm
Harry lives peacefully with his wife and four years old daughter and works in Lahti, Finland. Harry is grateful for what he has. Many solo and group exhibitions in Finland and also abroad in the Malaga Spain, Venice Italy, Tokyo Japan and in the California USA. "My artist's journey is making art and being nordic artist in the Europe."
Thank God
Genesis, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 80 x 80 cm
Artist Statement
Deep emotion, high dreams and bold expression at the heart of northern contemporary art. Harry Salmi (b. 1980, Hollola) is a Finnish visual artist from Lahti, whose works combine abstract contemporary art, street art and surrealism into a unique visual world.
Harry loves the feeling of freedom and peace that he can experience again and again when working on his new works. His studies at the Lahti Art Institute earned him professional skills and a university degree (BA Fine Arts) in 2011.
Good Painting, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 120 x 100 cm
"When I paint, I am braver than myself." "I live in my paintings," he says. Visual arts are also a superpower for Harry - a way to channel life experiences, adversity and hope into a new whole.
Salmi has been called an expert and master of new generation acrylic techniques: he works with acrylic markers, inks, spray, gel and traditional tube paints, among other things. The end result is layered and vibrant works.
Homebase, 2025, acrylic on cardboard, 42,5 x 37,5 cm
"I think that in the year 2025, artistry and creativity are the ability to make choices and ask questions. I also love the moments when I am in the studio and painting. I live for those moments. That drives me to create visual art. Painting is not just a process for me, but a way to observe and structure the world and reduce stress.”
Los Angeles, 2024, acrylic on paper, 50 x 50 cm
”The deepest essence of my painting is the effort to understand myself and my world through images and to make visible what feels important.” ”The need to make the invisible visible.” ”I also have to make art, otherwise the subjects will haunt my mind.” Nature, peace and love are the real background forces of Salmi's work. He finds his source of creativity in the summer cottage landscapes of Isojärvi in Central Finland – there time stops, and the inner world of the works becomes clearer. Harry also makes commissioned works. His art is not just something to look at – it is something to experience.
-Follow your dreams and do what you love
//Harry
X JA, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 70 x 70 cm
Exhibitions
Solo exhibitions
2025 Gallery Kivipankki, Jämsä
2023 Gallery Vanaja, Hämeenlinna
2023 Studio Exhibition, Lahti
2022 Gallery TRIO, Lahti
2021 Culture house of Hollola
2021 Gallery Technopolis, Espoo
2018 Gallery Stadio, Kauniainen
2017 Gallery Contempo, Helsinki
2015 Gallery Contempo, Helsinki
2015 Housing Fairs, Rock-stone houses, Vantaa
2015 Gallery Espacio, Benalmadena- Malaga, Spain
2013 Gallery Kivipankki, Jämsä
2011 Vapari6-Gallery, Lahti
2011 Art Centre Taarasti, Nastola-Lahti
2010 Aila Seppälä Gallery, Lahti
2009 Gallery Kivipankki, Jämsä
Grow, 2022, acrylic on canvas, 70 x 70 cm
Group exhibitions and collective exhibitions
2025 Finnish Painters Union, Kaapelitehdas Helsinki
2024 Lahti Art Loan 50-years, GUK, Lahti
2024 Gallery La Fiaba, Jyväskylä
2024 Finnish Painters Union, Helsinki
2023 Teosvälitys GUK, Lahti
2023 Laguna Art Gallery, California USA
2023 Finnish Painters union, Kaapelitehdas Helsinki
2023 Tokyo Tower Art Fair, Japan
2021 Teosvälitys GUK, Lahti
2020 Art@Karisma 3rd show, Lahti
2020 Art@Karisma 2nd show, Lahti
2020 Art@Karisma, Lahti
2020 Gallery Uusi Kipinä, Lahti
2019 Finnish Painters Union, Kaapelitehdas Helsinki
2017 ANIMA MUNDI, International Art Festival, Venice, Italy
2017 Gallery Asta Pulkkinen, Hollola
2017 ART Lahti 2017, Lahti
2016 ARS-Kalmari, Danielson Kalmari Manor House, Vääksy
2016 Gallery Uusi Kipinä, Lahti
2014 Art Centre Salmela, Mäntyharju
2014 The Gallery of Manor House, Hauho
2013 Gallery Fogga, Helsinki
2012 Art Centre Salmela, Mäntyharju
2011 The Gallery of Jewel, Länkipohja
2011 Valinta Gallery, Hollola
2011 The Gallery of Hollola library, Hollola
2009 The Gallery of Tiirismaa high school, Lahti
2009 Makasiini Gallery, Hollola 2006 Art Museum, Kouvola
2005 Culturehouse, Kuusankoski
To The Lingonberry forest, 2024, acrylic on canvas, 120 x 100 cm
Publications
Collectors Art Prize | Art Legends of Our Time — Book by contemporary art curator magazine 2025
Art Investment & Collectors' Guide 2025: Most Investable and Prominent Artists. By contemporary art collectors and Art Market Experts
Artist Closeup #26, Contemporary Art Magazine 2025
ANIMA MUNDI It´s Liquid International Art Show / Venice 2017, Book Curators Luca Curci and Andrea Chinellato
1st place, Victory, invitational competition for professional visual artists from Päijät-Häme Finland. A mural for the Onnenkodo Service Center. (work) JOURNEY, 2014, oil on canvas, 150 x 250 cm, prize €9,000.
Peace #1, 2025, mixed technique on paper, 42 x 29,7 cm
