A visual artist with a doctorate in mathematics, Helena Kauppila is deeply fascinated by complex systems and the phenomena of emergence. Although Kauppila’s work is representational, she derives her understanding of representation from mathematics, which can get quite abstract. Correspondingly, while her colorful canvases may appear haphazard and unplanned, there is a systems thinking behind them. Her work reflects the order of the genome, the structure of mathematical theories, and the visceral human connection to nature and intuitive experience.