Great use of colour, clarity of form and a refined sense of style. The art of simplifying so that no calculation is visible in the images. A recognisable yet versatile style that naturally lends itself to canvases, posters and book covers. A light and relaxed design language and elegant colour harmony. Renewing the tradition of poster art in a fresh way. There is warmth and gentleness in the shapes and colours. 

This is how the panel of judges describes the work of Antti Kalevi, who was selected as Illustrator of the Year, in their enthusiastic statement of reasons. Illustrator of the Year is an annual award given by the Finnish Illustration Association to an illustrator or group of illustrators who have made a significant contribution to the field. The prize, which is being awarded for the fifth time, amounts to €10,000. 

So how do you feel? 

“Very nice! This is a pleasant surprise. The award is still quite young, so it’s an honour to be one of the first recipients. On a broader scale, the award will certainly be good for the entire illustration industry in many ways,” says Antti Kalevi. 

The Illustrator of the Year award, and with it illustration as a profession, has been receiving much attention in recent years, for example in the media. 

Not only is it easy for the winner to smile, but also to endorse the views of the judges who particularly praised his strong use of colour. 

“Sometimes I even think too much about the use of colour. I can make 30 different colour versions of one photo, and in the end I can’t even decide which is my favourite.” 

The panel included visual artist Bo Haglund, illustrator Satu Kettunen, graphic designer Tuija Tarkiainen and curator Aino Kostiainen, as well as last year’s winner Irene Suosalo. 

The Illustrator of the Year himself is particularly pleased that others have clearly recognised what he does best. According to the panel, everything in his work seems free and joyfully done, as if naturally born into place. 

“I also think that, if I have fun when I make pictures, I believe and hope that this will be transmitted on some level and that others will enjoy looking at them.” 

In 2024, Antti Kalevi will celebrate ten years as a professional freelance illustrator. Naturally, the beginning was a time of financial hardship but now he can afford to choose which jobs to accept. Even though there are bills to pay, sometimes you have to say ‘no’ just because of scheduling reasons. 

“More and more, I’ve started to look for illustration work that suits me best. You can control this to some extent, for example by what you put in your portfolio,” says Antti Kalevi. 

Recently, this has meant drawing fruit and vegetables, among other things, as he is currently interested in working with restaurants and food-related businesses in general. 

One of the newest customers is the Kirsikka restaurant, which opened in the renovated Hakaniemi market hall in Helsinki in 2023. For the restaurant, Antti Kalevi drew a poster and illustrations for the drink and menu menus – different ones for each season. The serial nature of the images appeals to him. 

Originally, Antti was not supposed to become an illustrator at all, but a graphic designer. In spring 2014, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Graphic Design from Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture. Before entering university, he worked for a couple of years as a graphic designer and production AD in an advertising agency. 

However, a study exchange at the Icelandic Academy of Fine Arts in Reykjavik in 2011 changed his goals. 

“It’s hard to say whether it was the colourful Icelandic environment, the mountain scenery or what exactly, but it was a very inspiring year for me. After that I decided I wanted to try photography and see if I could make a living by taking pictures. When I returned to Finland, I took all the art courses offered by the university, from woodcuts to lithography and serigraphy. I spent a lot of time in the Graphic Arts department, even at night.” 

But he found his own style through drawing, and thought that if he wanted to do illustrations for a living, he would have to draw as much as possible.. There is always something to draw. 

“I decided to do one picture every day in my sketchbook. It could even be just a ten-second mess. I didn’t set myself any other artificial rules or goals. I continued for a year and, already during that time I noticed that my own visual language started to go in a certain direction and certain visual elements began to repeat themselves. I don’t try to direct my style to any particular form, but rather to see if it feels natural,” says Antti. 

He still does the same thing: he draws something unplanned, usually in the morning, he focuses on the movement of the pen and sees what emerges. Naturalness is more important than something highly polished. 

The reasons why Antti was awarded the prize state that his works “embody an acceptance of incompleteness in the midst of which the viewer wants to linger and reawaken” and that “the natural handprint accepts and embraces small mistakes”. 

“I think that reflecting on your work is just as important as actively drawing. It’s very important to get some distance from your own pictures. When you spend hours on one, it’s easy to become blind to the work and no longer know what works and what doesn’t. It requires the right frame of mind.” 

The drawing itself may be over quickly, but that doesn’t mean the picture is necessarily finished. After drawing, you have to step back and let the work sit in your subconscious for an hour or even a day, until it’s time to come back to the picture and look at it with clear eyes, as it were. 

He draws artistic inspiration from everywhere and lists travel, food, music and visual arts as his main sources. An unexpected combination of colours, an abstract surface, architectural shapes and shadows can also trigger the urge to create. This can just as easily be ignited by an everyday object in the home, such as a kitchen utensil. 

Since 2015, Antti Kalevi’s work has been represented by Agent Pekka, a graphic design agency whose artists include dozens of Finnish and international illustrators, animators and typographers. Cooperation with the agency is excellent, he says. 

“In practice, Agent Pekka helps me to find new jobs, find clients and run my business. When there are job enquiries, they do the sending of offers and all that paperwork. The idea is for me to be able to concentrate as much as possible on creative work alone. They also, for example, travel a lot to trade fairs.” 

Antti Kalevi has worked with major world-class clients such as technology company Apple, record label Universal Music and news media The New York Times. For domestic brands, he has designed textile items for Samuji and Marimekko, among others. 

The year before last, Marimekko celebrated its 70th anniversary and wanted to introduce new patterns to its anniversary collection. They had already studied Antti Kalevi’s work and thought about how and what kind of images and subjects they would like to use. 

“I showed them some new sketches and also some sketches from my archives that had not been published before. For example, I found the template for the Big Juice pattern in my archives, which Marimekko immediately fell in love with,” says Antti. 

Among Marimekko’s designers, he is particularly drawn to the patterns created by Fujiwo Ishimoto. The Japanese textile and ceramics artist has designed around 400 print fabric designs for the company, many of which feature nature in different seasons, as do the menus recently drawn by Antti. 

“Ishimoto’s work has a delicacy about it, but at the same time you can see in the images that they have been very carefully thought out. His figures often convey a kind of relaxed drawing.” 

As noted, similar qualities can be found in Antti Kalevi’s work. In its statement of reasons, the panel mentioned influences from painters Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse and illustrator Erik Bruun. The Illustrator of the Year is happy to accept the comparisons. 

“Yes, they are role models in a way, without a doubt.” 

Antti Kalevi also says that he likes Japanese graphic design very much. He mentions posters by Ikko Tanaka and drawings by Masanao Hirayama. 

The panel felt that many of Antti’s works are on the borderline between art and illustration. They filter modernist influences into the modern era. 

His work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Helsinki, Tokyo, Seoul and elsewhere. 

_____________________

Published in Kuvittaja 2/23. 

Read this article in Finnish: Antti Kalevi – Mitä väriä!

www.anttikalevi.com