Isse
Isse Karsten (born 1956) is a self-taught visual artist, based in Helsinki, working summers in Pyhtää and winters in Essauira. His collages, installations and sculptures repeat bright colours and narrative drawings side by side with the materiality of wood. In addition to personal stories, his works refer also to characters and thoughts about utopias about an equal and fair world. Some of his works are in private-, as well as, in Kiasma’s (Helsinki museum of contemporary art) collections. Karsten worked as Art School MAA’s director 2005–2020.
He started to paint in the beginning of eighties and found his unique style already at the very beginning of his career. He continued to practice visual arts actively also during the nineties participating to several contemporary art exhibitions at the time. But then his work as a Culture Producer took gradually hold of his interest and energy. He worked many years enthusiasticly with different Art institutions in Helsinki producing and curating Art education and Art events and there was no time left for painting. But at some point at the year 2012 his original attractions and interest in visual arts started to lure him to rent a studio and return back to continue his career as a visual artists.