Kaj Ard

Kaj Ard Söderholm was born in Kimito, an island in southwestern Finland. Although interested in art, he was not encouraged to become an artist. However, later during an 8 month trip around the world, it became clear that he was going to devote his life to art. He studied painting at the Gerlesborg School of Fine Arts in the 1980s.

In 1988 he was finally ready for his first private exhibition in Helsinki. This marked the beginning of his life as an artist. Kaj has spent 20 years living and exhibiting his art in an old orangery on the outskirts of Helsinki. The setting was perfect for the artist, meaning he rarely exhibited elsewhere. However, he still made several trips to Latin America in the 1990s and 2000s. Faces and bodies painted in thin layers on wood illustrate his encounters at that time.