Risto Suomi’s works reveal a creativity that exists close to the conscious and unconscious. In his search for artistic thruths, he has eliminated the superfluous – the unnecessary or expandable. His imagery gripes the imagination striking, a hauntingly responsive chord.

Suomi’s paintings are blatant and subtle, naive and sophisticated, gaudy and beautiful. They are both meaningful and meaningless‚ they exist on many different levels of interpretation. The artist’s response to reality is poetic, almost mystical. His vision is a function of this individual reaction. The works are delightful – full of humour and fantasy – and appeared to be the spontaneous creation of an uninhibited mind. This appearance of spontaneity and freedom is, however, deceptive. They are the result of labour and discipline, the function of a highly developed eye which has learnt to see beyond surface appearance. There is authority in Suomi's compositions, control in his skillful handling of paint, vitality in his arrogant use of colour. Suomi’s paintings represent deeply experienced truths about illusion and reality.

The mix of exalted elements – the aggrandisement of the individual, the headstrong emotionalism, the operatic discharge – places Suomi’s art clearly within a surrealistic tradition that continues to evolve in today's art, if not always fashionably.

Michael Casey