I'm Taika Joensuu, a Helsinki-based creative entrepreneur working at the intersection of visual art, design, and hands-on making. At the moment, my primary focus is painting and visual expression.

My name, Taika, means "magic" in Finnish — a fitting word for the imaginative worlds I paint.

I create portraits from a world where cats, frogs, and rubber ducks take center stage.

My works are developed by combining AI, digital processes, and traditional painting. I begin by constructing a reference image, which then becomes the foundation for a hand-painted piece — created slowly and carefully, with each painting taking around 100 hours to complete.

My process is driven by curiosity and a desire to create something of my own. I don't replicate existing imagery; instead, I build each composition from the ground up.
For me, AI functions as a new kind of tool and sketchbook, while the final artwork is always created through painting.

Alongside my paintings, I create digital drawings of my cats — small, everyday moments that offer a contrast to the slow and highly detailed painting process.

My two cats are an essential part of both my daily life and my work. They are not only a source of inspiration, but also a way to bring humor and lightness into what I do.

I hold a Master of Arts degree in fashion design. Although fashion is not currently the main focus of my work, it continues to shape my thinking.
I'm particularly interested in the concept of garments constructed from a single pattern piece — an idea where simplicity and structure meet. I began developing this concept during my master's studies around ten years ago.

Even though I now work less with clothing, the same thinking carries into my paintings: how a whole is constructed, and how details relate to one another.

Moving between two-dimensional and three-dimensional work — between painting and textiles — I'm drawn to the idea of complete worlds: that the same concept could exist in multiple forms.
I aim to create bodies of work where a single idea is expressed across different materials and dimensions.

Imagiarium is the name of the world I am building — a place where imagination is allowed to exist, without the need to explain everything.

Social media

Join me on social media and stay up to date with new work, news, and events.

Don't miss out!

You'll find current updates, announcements, and behind-the-scenes content.