Arno Westerberg
- Service in brief: Contemporary painting that continues Finland’s long artistic heritage and connects Helsinki’s urban core to the international art scene.
- Founded: 2025
- Mission: The world is a magical, fascinating place and art makes it visible.
”Helsinki supports artists who are building careers in a global context. There are no bad parties, only those where you decide to have fun.”
A Career Between Two Cultures
Westerberg has long moved between Helsinki and the Netherlands, two countries with rich visual art traditions. From both, he has found the foundations of his own artistic expression. “Art has been like a pair of landing boots for me,” he explains. In every new city, he has discovered people who share the same passion, a connection that now also shapes his work as an entrepreneur.
Although he runs his business independently, he does not work alone. Close collaboration with Galerie Forsblom and a wide network of art professionals, collections and institutions forms an ecosystem through which his works reach audiences in Finland and abroad.
Images, Stories, and an Open Invitation to the Viewer
At the heart of Westerberg’s paintings lies the need for images and stories. He offers the viewer a recognizable composition and a simple title, an extended hand that invites interpretation. “If the viewer takes the hand, imagination must carry the rest,” he says. Each painting holds a secret, and at best, artist and audience explore the work together.
Early Challenges: Navigating Art and Entrepreneurship
When an artist becomes an entrepreneur, the workload quickly multiplies. Time management, process planning and articulating one’s expertise become everyday responsibilities. Westerberg notes that the interface between art and business can be delicate, but with the right partners he has learned to clarify his role and recognize when to seek expert support.
For Westerberg, entrepreneurship is about taking responsibility for his creative process and communicating it to audiences, galleries and collaborators. It requires openness, the courage to share unfinished ideas, and the willingness to build upon them.
A first step into Business Helsinki’s services
Westerberg first approached Business Helsinki to resolve three practical questions about taxation. Yet the consultation opened a much broader perspective: financial planning, marketing support and structuring artistic work as a business. “I came with three tax questions and ended up learning how my artistic practice becomes a business.”
Westerberg describes that Business Helsinki opened a door in his world, one revealing that art and entrepreneurship are not opposites, but complementary. Through business advisory services and mentoring, his practice has grown into a more structured and sustainable enterprise.
A year that changed everything
The year 2025 has been a turning point. Westerberg’s solo exhibition at Galerie Forsblom has taken his work to new international arenas and expanded his audience. At the same time, he has strengthened his understanding of what it means to be both artist and entrepreneur and feels grateful for the support from Business Helsinki.