Matti Lepistö (1948–2020) was an outsider artist from Pattijoki, known for his concrete sculptures that are imaginatively rich in their topics. Lepistö displayed his sculptures at his home yard in Mansikkakari, Pattijoki, where he had over 250 large concrete sculptures on the lawn field. Thirty-four of the sculptures have been moved to the city center of Raahe, to new Matti’s Cosmos Sculpture Park but most of the sculptures are still presented in the original sculpture park in Pattijoki.

Matti's Cosmos

The new sculpture park Matti’s Cosmos is located in the city center of Raahe, between the main library and the central playground near the Town Hall at Rantakatu 43. Matti’s Cosmos presents a selection of works by an artist who had a local impact in Raahe. The world created by Matti Lepistö speaks to the viewer regardless of age and cultural background, as the subjects of the sculptures are fundamentally universal and easy to understand. In their new location, the sculptures are easily accessible to a wider audience.

History

The city of Raahe purchased Matti Lepistö Sculpture Park along with its property in 2025, after which the sculptures were inventoried and catalogued. The catalogued sculptures are openly available at the cultural heritage search engine, Finna.

Lepistö was a textbook example of an outsider artist – a doer, who creates art within his own living environment and whose art reflects his own culture and experiences. Outsider art is also characterized by being self-taught and that the techniques are unique to their makers. This was also the case with Lepistö; by profession, Lepistö was a machinist.

Lepistö’s passion for sculpting ignited during an adult education course in the 1980s, and this led to a lifelong career creating individual art. Lepistö left his work as a machinist in the 1990s and, in his own words, became a full-time "starving artist." He developed his own sculpting technique for his sculptures. He made an iron skeleton inside the sculptures, on top of which he placed polystyrene foam and chicken wire as filling. He mixed the concrete with a gut feeling so that it was easy to shape.

He earned his living by selling and exhibiting his sculptures and by drawing and painting portraits. In addition to sculpting, Lepistö also drew, painted, did glasswork, and wrote. He was also an enthusiastic photographer.

The opening of the new sculpture park was celebrated on June 25th 2026 during Pekanpäivät – Raahe's Local Heritage Festival and they were part of the official Oulu2026 program.

Matti Lepistö Sculpture Park in Pattijoki

Matti Lepistö’s original sculpture park in Mansikkakari, Pattijoki, at Mansikkakarintie 200, is still well worth a visit. The grounds are home to more than 200 works of art, which visitors are welcome to explore freely.

Those who knew Lepistö, described the man as hermit, as he lived alone on his own property and devoted his time to creating art. Matti Lepistö was born in the countryside of Pattijoki and was accustomed to working with his hands since a child. He made the buildings on his plot himself – a residential house, a workshop, and smaller storage buildings. For his home, he
made most of the furniture himself and the tools for concrete carving.

Despite his hermit nature, family was important to Lepistö. He was close not only to his mother but also to his siblings and their children. Lepistö did not have a family of his own, which perhaps was partly due to his special lifestyle. Nevertheless, family was an important value for him, and this value is also reflected in the themes of his sculptures. In addition to imaginative subjects, in the Pattijoki sculpture park, one can see sculptures that tell stories of childhood, parenthood, and family.