Laura Rappi is an artist originally from Finland who studied art in the Netherlands and now resides in New York. Her work has been featured in various exhibitions, including a solo exhibition at Lorimoto Gallery, The Yard in Colorado Springs, and Galleria Usi Kipina in Finland, as well as in “Bronx Calling: The Fifth AIM Biennial” at The Bronx Museum in New York. She actively works in multiple locations such as New York, Finland, and Dubai on a global scale.

Her art is a fusion of painting and sculpture, incorporating yakisugi, an ancient Japanese technique that uses fire to preserve and finish wood, resulting in a unique and unpredictable final product. Her sculptures are primarily made of recycled wood and explore the relationship between architecture, spatial environments, and the human psyche. Her art highlights the disconnection from nature and how it can manifest as loss and abandonment. Rappi raises important questions about the role of art in understanding the roots of cultural and physical disconnection with nature and how art can address these issues.

Rappi finds inspiration for her art in the grandeur of ancient basilicas, cathedrals, and medieval Scandinavian wooden structures, among other historical sites. She transforms the details of these buildings into her own style, creating work that feels like a relic of a ruined structure. Her most expressive and permanent works address the role that buildings and structures play in society and the impact they have on our lives and ways of thinking.

Her wall paneling is inspired by historical blueprints and created by layering recycled wood into repeating geometric shapes such as irregular pentagons, triangles, trapezoids, and circles. These shapes intersect to provide structural integrity and create a mesmerizing visual rhythm. To preserve the wood from rotting, Rappi uses the yakisugi technique to char the wood with fire. Her art showcases the formative characteristics of some of the world’s most significant buildings.