“When I started painting in August 1999 it was as though I had been struck by lightning.” says Jarmo. It was so intense an experience that he painted fervently day and night - and at times with both hands simultaneously. He states that he has never studied art, art history nor ever attended any kind of art class but that his work comes to him from his own inner vision.

His paintings crowd his apartment: some paintings are even stored under the bed! The majority of them have a strong Dutch influence and Ylänen states that van Gogh comes alive in him - that he is van Gogh reborn!

He paints the past, his own memories and his visions. He does not search - and it is this which enables him, through his art, to experience and discover life’s primordial depths. The material world is bound by laws which limit (borders, frontiers, demarcations) but the world of art is boundless.

Jarmo Ylänen’s work was exhibited in Cairo, Egypt, in 2000 and the local paper acclaimed his work:

“Jarmo Ylänen as an artist – and the significance of his art – is like Noah’s Ark which came to rescue the people.”

Ian Vorres, the Greek museum director and patron of the arts states that  “Ylänen’s colourful paintings are brimming with life, they have soul. His pencil strokes have strength to their flow and his use of colour is superb.” It has also been said that Jarmo Ylänen has created a totally new direction in the world of art.

Following the words of Pablo Picasso, Anne adds “Those who try to explain art are like those who try to catch the wind “.  Art is very difficult to explain since, in order to unlock its mysteries everyone uses their own keys or understands in their own way. Life is a mirror!

“You have come a long way
to this moment.
A moment where, as if
through a fragile film,
you see yourself
as an image
coloured by light-
and having come
from the infinite
vastness beyond.

To be at least
a speck of dust
in the centre of this
immense world of stars
is truly grand.
To have come from there
and to return there.”

-Anne Pajuluoma