matti lepistö sculpture park

Matti Lepistö Sculpture Park

Matti Lepistö sculpture park is one of the best places to visit in Raahe. The park is located in the yard of Matti Lepistö’s detached house and displays almost 300 sculptures and other works of art by the late Finnish artist. The park features eye-catching human and animal statues and mythology-related sculptures. After the illustrious artist passed away in 2020, the house remained without staff. However, the area is fully accessible to everyone who want to admire the art of Matti and help maintain the sculptures by paying an entrance fee.

Discover the fantastic world of sculptural art

Matti Lepistö used different sculpturing techniques. However, he became popular primarily for his concrete sculptures. Today, the backyard is full of statues and figurines of different size and depicting different motifs. When exploring the exhibition, you will come across human and animal sculptures that look pretty much the same as their real-life counterparts. The artist paid a lot of attention to details, spending weeks on creating perfectly accurate traits.

Sometimes, he let his imagination go wild and created surreal sculptures with strikingly disproportionate body features and mythical appearance. Some sculptures criticize the conquests of religion, others venerate life. It’s hard to get bored while walking through the park because each sculpture makes your eyes eager to explore it thanks to its bold and eccentric appearance.

statue park in pattijoki

A place where nature and art are in perfect harmony

The Matti Lepistö sculpture park is a unique open-air museum that combines nature and art. Because the courtyard is compact, you can easily stroll the area and explore the sculpures while breathing in the fresh forest air. The park is a perfect place to spend an entire day with your family or stop by for a picnic. There is another attraction in close vicinity to the park, the Pattijoen Forest Church. It offers a pleasant resting area where you can enjoy a snack and listen to forest sounds.

Where is the Matti Lepistö sculpture park located?

Get to know other talents of Matti Lepistö

Besides sculptural art, the prolific artist practised other art techniques, including drawing, painting, writing, photographing and making stained glass. Some of his works are displayed on the premises of the house, others are sold by the artist’s brothers. They invest the earned money in artwork maintenance, especially removing the moss from the sculptures. Yet, some pieces are never for sale. They include the favorite sculptures of Matti, such as the laundress, the axeman, the lumberjack and the eagle-headed nation.

Everyone is welcome to Matti Lepistö Sculpture Park

Matti’s wish was to popularize his art and motivate as many people as possible to try concrete sculpturing. That is why, his brothers left the park open to the public in honour of the artist’s memory. Everyone who drives past the park can stop by and enter the courtyard without any obstacle on their way. If you want, you can pay an entrance fee of €5 per person (family fee €10). This little financial contribution will help maintain the sculptures and prevent the park from losing its aesthetic appeal and eventually close.