Sculptor Pekka Jylhä’s works express modern topics

Since he was young, sculptor Pekka Jylhä liked to paint. In his childhood town of Toholampi, in Ostrobothnia, he would often paint and draw with the neighbour’s boy. At stores, he often drew portraits of people, which many of them liked and would even pay a little for.

However, the true start of his life as an artist was a particular traumatic childhood event:

-When I was nine years old, I found my mother dead in the rocking chair after coming home from school. Cerebral haemorrhage, they said. Death is what makes the artist – early in my career, I made a rocking chair that moves on its own. It’s currently a part of the City of Vantaa’s art collection.

He found kindred souls at the Savonlinna Upper Secondary School for Art. From there, his journey continued onto the University of Industrial Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts. He still remembers the entrance exams of the Academy, as he was one of only three entrants that year. His educational journey would have one final step, the Royal Arts Academy in Stockholm. Jylhä recalls his time in Stockholm:

-Sweden was ahead of its time. That is where my career as a sculptor really got going. That’s been my thing for at least four decades now, and I’ve had the honour of so many exhibitions and public works. Stockholm was also a very international environment.

One of Jylhä’s better known works is the Urho Kekkonen Memorial in Helsinki, near Finlandia Hall, which he completed in the year 2000.

-The Urho Kekkonen Memorial is what gave me a certain credence – it was selected by an international jury, based on only a miniature paper model. They made their selections in a dark, poorly lit bomb shelter and my proposal had good lighting on its own, says Jylhä with a smile on his face.

One memorable work is also the Golden Deer, by the motorway at Siilinjärvi. The sculpture has been placed on a cliff 20 metres above the road, from where drivers can see it. They often contact Jylhä afterwards.   

Jylhä says that it’s touching everyday events that are his inspiration:

-I want to be a part of the social discourse through my works, and I’m pretty spontaneous about it. There’s always someone that’s offended. I don’t let that limit me.”

Some of his works that have sparked discussions are the concrete pigs that were removed from Espoo in 2022, the Tom of Finland statue that remains in storage, and Kunnes meri hänet vapauttaa, a piece about a drowned Syrian boy he made in 2016.

Right now, Jylhä is working on Grönland, a sculpture about current affairs in Greenland. It is slowly being frozen and covered with white, beautiful but delicate ice.

Before Grönland, he completed The Rope Dancer for Exhibition Centre WeeGee, which was placed there on Espoo Day in 2025. It took four years to make. The Rope Dancer is a piece of environmental art that features a young girl, balancing on a planet-shaped ring. It was inspired by Jylhä’s own daughter, Martta.

-What’s dearest is what’s most recent! It took a long time to work on The Rope Dancer for WeeGee, and I wanted the human figure to be realistic, says Jylhä. 

The Espoo Museum of Modern Art, also located at WeeGee, has exhibited Pekka Jylhä’s rabbit piece With tremor and respect (2005), Luola saaren rannalla (2013), and Lyhdynkantaja (1999–2000), a rabbit carrying a disco ball.

Read more about The Rope Dancer in the Espoo Museum of Modern Art’s article here: A new sculpture by Pekka Jylhä rises outside EMMA, sending a message of hope and courage(external link, opens in a new window) (1 Sept 2025).

Many of Jylhä’s works are presented on his own website at pekkajylha.fi(external link, opens in a new window)

In addition to visual arts, Jylhä loves theatre, film and literature. He is a regular at Kino Tapiola and & Espoo Theatre. He also spends a lot of time at the Aalto University Library, which he considers the best library in Finland. 

These are his cultural highlights for February:

Antti Laitinen: Chiming Forest(external link, opens in a new window) (24 Sept 2025 – 23 Aug 2026 Espoo Museum of Modern Art EMMA)

The Antti Laitinen exhibition exemplifies the variety at Exhibition Centre WeeGee. A wide open space with fantastic exhibitions. The sense of the forest here fits the space very well.

PETER LIVED IN A HOUSE – a dolphin from dot to dot(external link, opens in a new window) (9 February – 7 May & Espoo Theatre)

- & Espoo Theatre hasn’t let me down yet. This one is about the love of nature with an unfortunate end, with the dolphin taking its own life. I usually go and see foreign productions at & Theatre, since they bring stuff that you don’t see anywhere else in Finland.

Louhi dance performance (KULPS esiopetus - 6.lk) | City of Espoo (Thu 26 Feb, Children's Cultural Centre Aurora)

-I’ve never been to Aurora, which means I definitely should!  I often go to see dance performances at the Cable Factory and other places. People, art, music and a visual approach are very close to my own world. They load up the theatre with powerful experiences. I've also worked on stage design at times.

Yoga and Singing Bowl Relaxation | City of Espoo (Wed 25 Feb, Lippulaiva library)

-I’ve done yoga for over thirty years. I started it when I moved to Espoo and I still do it every morning and evening to keep my body in shape. It’s not just physical, either, as it lets you relax and dissociate from the day-to-day.

Lämpiöklubi: The Finnish Highwaymen | City of Espoo (Sat 21 Feb, Sello Hall)

-Music has always been a part of my working process. It’s given me happy experiences ever since I was a young boy. I'm not a musical person, but I'm happy to go to concerts and listen. It looks like this is a pretty big band.

See what else is going on in Espoo: Cultural events in Espoo.

Check out our previous cultural tips on one page at: espoo.fi/fi/kulttuuritarpit

Text: Sanna Uuksulainen