Jesper Vainionpää (b. 2001) is a painter based in Helsinki who primarily works with oil paint. His work explores the human experience and our relationship with the environments we inhabit. The paintings often feature bodily forms and terrains in states of vulnerability, combining figurative and abstract approaches. He is drawn to the very moment when a subject begins to lose its literal identity and becomes less about what it is, and more about what it evokes. He sees this transformation as an opportunity to reimagine the subject in a more open and nuanced way.

His subjects are often drawn from everyday observation and personal memory. Vainionpää is particularly inspired by states of discomfort and feelings of tranquility, finding a tension in the contrast between these emotions, one that he describes as peaceful.

At the core of his process is an ongoing dialogue between himself and the medium: an intuitive exchange where painting becomes a way to ask questions rather than resolve them. These questions often remain unanswered, leaving behind images that fade like distant memories—fragments of something once felt, now just out of reach.