Riikka Salminen (b. 1988, Helsinki, Finland) is a painter currently living and working in Helsinki. Her primary medium is oil painting. Salminen’s works are often self-referential—sometimes directly, sometimes through still lifes and symbolic imagery. This self-reflective approach serves as a way for her to understand herself and the surrounding world amid life’s changes. In her paintings, Salminen uses objects, garments, and symbols to build intricate networks of meaning that intertwine and layer like a mental map. Through her art, she explores apparent contradictions—for instance, how the things most empowering and meaningful to us can also be our greatest sources of vulnerability.
Her main sources of inspiration include art history, everyday challenges, and conversations with friends and colleagues.

Salminen earned her Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts degrees from the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of the Arts Helsinki in 2021. Before that, she completed a degree in Visual Art at the Pekka Halonen Academy. She has participated in several group and collaborative exhibitions, including at Galleria Toinen Silmä (2024) and the Vantaa Artists Association’s Galleria K (2023). Her most recent solo exhibitions were at Bon Temps Café in Helsinki (2025) and Galleria Uusi Kipinä in Lahti (2024).
Salminen’s works are held in several private collections.

Artist CV