Jenni Hiltunen's Expressionist Portraits at Galleria Mimmo Scognamiglio

Jenni Hiltunen (Hollola, 1981) presents her portrait series at Galleria Mimmo Scognamiglio in Milan, channeling expressionist cinema aesthetics to depict contemporary café society. Her subjects are not vampish femmes fatales but thoughtful women whose bodies and minds intertwine, revealing weaknesses and dreams. Their gazes—sometimes dramatically wide—burn with rage against glass walls of prejudice that still hinder women's self-realization. Bored, disdainful poses mock the image-driven social media society, while liberating poses release inner anxieties and tensions. Echoes of Matisse appear in vivid colors and orientalist tapestries, betraying suffering from daily struggle and maternal longing for harmony in a shamefully male-dominated society. The exhibition is reviewed by Niccolò Lucarelli.