Emma Järvenpää

Ground-breaking collaging

TEXT: HANNA ANDERSSON | PHOTOS: DIGITALSTUDION.SE, JOHAN PALMGREN, EMMA JÄRVENPÄÄ

With an ambition to create and a passion for breaking new ground, Emma Järvenpää has torn limitations – as well as magazines – apart to fulfil her dream to become an artist. “I never meant to sell my art. It just happened. I started posting my collages on Instagram, and a family friend bought one, then a colleague did the same, and it took off.”

Emma Järvenpää, 35, creates collages, a craft she first got into as she spent four months in Austin, Texas, in 2014. “My partner’s father is an artist, and he let me play around with his material, which was a lot. His whole family are creatives, and they are very encouraging, which made me see my talent. I have always known that I was creative, but my partner’s family and Texas showed me new ways to do it.”

It has not always been easy, though; one of Emma’s biggest triumphs was letting go of all the rules and standards set by other people. “My development has more to do with me than with what I create. I have learnt to let go. Before, I’ve always considered who might like my art, where it might end up, and I looked past what I liked. It took time, but I don’t question what I create anymore, which has been my greatest victory.”

Emma’s success goes hand in hand with the art she loves, which includes powerful images and rule-breaking characters. “I am inspired by free spirits and believe that more is more. One of my favourite people to get inspired by is Amy Winehouse, who always walked her own way; the same goes for Frida Kahlo, Marilyn Monroe, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Niki de Saint Phalle. Places also inspire me: I love Italy, Texas and Arabic architecture; everything that is a bit over the top. But I would also say that I am drawn to imperfection, to roughness.”

All genders tend to buy and appreciate Emma’s collages, which is quite rare when it comes to art. “I’d like to think of my customers as people who are similar to myself – open-minded and curious. I would also like to meet more of them, which is difficult since I mostly sell through galleries. But this year, I might be able to meet some customers when I attend an exhibition at First Hotel G in Gothenburg in September, and the Affordable Art Fair in Stockholm in October. I also have a studio at Spinneriet, an old spinning factory, which is now the home of me and 20 other creatives – a great place for further progress.”

Web: emmajarvenpaa.com

Instagram: @emmajarvenpaa.art