Pentti Sammallahti

Pentti Sammallahti was born in Helsinki, Finland in 1950. He began taking photographs as a child and by the age of 21 he had exhibited both in Finland and abroad. He taught at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki for 17 years and retired when he received a 15 year grant from the Finnish government.

Sammallahti describes himself as a wanderer who likes the nature of the great north, the silence, the cold, the sea. He likes the people and animals of far off places and he records the relationships of those people and their environment. One of the most distinctive elements of his work is the inclusion of animals - they wander into his photographs and then disappear as naturally as they appeared.

Since 1979 Pentti Sammallahti has published 13 books and portfolios.

Awards
 
1995 The Samuli Paulaharju Prize of the Finnish Literature Society
1992 State Prizes for Photography
1989 Uusimaa Province Art Prize
1986 Daniel Nyblin Prize
1980 Finnish Critics Association Annual Prize
1979 State Prizes for Photography
1975 State Prizes for Photography
   
Solo Exhibitions
2000 photo-eye Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
   
Collections
photo-eye Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Ffotogallery, Cardiff, Wales
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
Nice Audiovisuel, Nice, France
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France
Pushkin Museum, Moscow, Russia
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany
Moderna Museet / Fotografiska Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
The Finnish State Collections
Photographic Museum of Finland

Bibliography
Pentti Sammallahti. Pentti Sammallahti. Nazraeli Press/Candace Perich
Gallery, Tucson, 2002 (photo-eye Cat# TR098H)
 
Pentti Sammallahti. Pentti Sammallahti. Blue Sky Gallery, Portland, OR, 2001
(photo-eye Cat# ZB803S)
 
The Russian Way. Pentti Sammallahti. Opus, 1996 (photo-eye Cat# ZB243H)
 
The Russian Way Limited Edition. Pentti Sammallahti. Opus, 1996 (photo-eye
Cat# ZB243L)
 
Cathleen Ní Houlihan. An Irish Portfolio. Pentti Sammallahti. Opus, 1979

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