Born in 1979 | Lives and works in Helsinki
Perttu Mäkelä’s works move between figurative and abstract art. The nature seems to be ever-present, and the inspiration comes from the meadows the artist himself has planted and that are full of life during the Finnish summer months. Mäkelä’s clear lines and seamlessly blending colors bring out delicate and multidimensional compositions.
As a music producer previously known by the stage name DJPP, Mäkelä feels that painting offers a different kind of creative process. While music can be refined, arranged and reworked endlessly, painting is a more independent and immediate art form. Every brushstroke remains visible; the finished work reveals a lot about its creator. In his works, Mäkelä uses acrylic paint, colored pencil, and chalk, both on primed and unprimed canvases. The variation of soft tones and the delightfully flowing precision of the compositions create a harmonious whole. Rhythmic forms and subtle details invite the viewer to pause and immerse themselves in the works.
Materials and surfaces seem to engage in a subtle dialogue with each other. The works possess a living texture and depth; controlled expression and intuitive movement bring an organic sense of pattern to the whole. Mäkelä’s visual language balances sensitivity and structural clarity, making the works feel simultaneously calm and charged with tension. The works also emphasize the sense of time, as the subtle changes in the composition remind us of slow construction and the continuous movement of perception.
Perttu Mäkelä has studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki. As a producer, Mäkelä has collaborated with several Finnish and international rap artists. Mäkelä’s works are included in several private collections.