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For information on our artistic work in collaboration please visit our website: 

www.raekalliodelval.com

Uusi normaali / New Normal

“I crossed the arcade that separated my friend’s house from the normality of the world, pushed the hefty wooden door and I let myself into the warm ambience of the room. Inside, I found a heterogeneous and unruly bunch of characters of different constitutions, backgrounds, temperaments and species, sitting inexplicably around the same table. I stood for a moment at the doorway. No one seemed to pay any special attention to me. As I approached tentatively the table, I observed how everyone sitting around it looked comfortable in their own skin. This helped me also to soften up and relax, and so I allowed myself to be just what I was. I sat gently at the end of the table. Little by little my spirits lifted up, as the atmosphere of merrymaking, fancy and mischief of my fellow diners sucked me in.

At the table I encountered ghastly lion tamers dressed up with military insignia, an old lady handing out playing cards to a dog, a Buddha, who had grown Nietzsche’s moustaches and was toying with Picasso’s bread rolls, fervent lovers hiding behind fancy venetian masks, a taxi driver whose heart had been opened to love, toddlers lost in the light of a hand device, enlightened beings, spectres, spirits of all sorts: of anger, of laughter, of confusion, of awe, dungeon wardens out of a Monty Python movie, the Supreme God in a drunken state. I saw Hermann Hesse, walls and dresses made of diamonds, mouldy men, a person from a back and white film wearing a surgical mask, a galactic refugee, saintly people who argued, kissed each other, fell asleep on the table, drooled and snorted lines. I also found fragments of the same forests I carry within me. 

Serene and quiet, with my elbows leaning on the edge of the table, I understood the table as a living organism, and somehow as part of what I was. I grew fond of the other guests; I conversed and meddled with most of them and learned how everyone came from different families, quarters, countries, different walks of life, different planets, and how each of them had a different story to tell. I felt at ease amongst that miscellaneous mob. They were -we were- unique individuals, yet at that moment sitting at the same table we were all strangely alike. Touched by this observation, I looked back through the large glass window at the world

of noises and smoke, words and minutes, credos and opinions waiting for me outside.”

Raisa Raekallio (Kittilä, Finland) and Misha del Val (Bilbao, Spain) present atTm•galleria their new series of paintings Uusi normaali, created in collaboration between March and June 2020, at their aitta-studio in Lapland, where the artists live and work. Uusi normaali is the artist couple’s debut exhibition in Helsinki. The works, that incorporate elements from theatre, literature and religious traditions, and flickering glimpses of the Northern scenery, may be a reflection on how the artists themselves, despite their different backgrounds, upbringings and languages in Basque Country and Lapland, have found a reliable, comfortable place at the table to sit and come together: the arena of painting.

Raisa Raekallio & Misha del Val

'Uusi Normaali'

Tm•galleria, Helsinki 

15.7-16.8.2020

www.painters.fi/galleria/raisa-raekallio-misha-del-val

ProjectRoom2020

In times of crisis, when it's most needed, there’re people who come up with the brightest ideas to cushion up the impact of these on our communities. ProjectRoom2020 is an inventive initiative showcasing and supporting the work of artists during the impasse caused by Covid-19, put together by Ian McKay -editor of Art North magazine- from Scotland. The online platform acts as a small museum, that can be visited from home, comprising several exhibitions spaces, the obligatory gallery floor map, an underground theatre and a cafeteria. ProjectRoom2020 present the artworks in rotating monthly exhibitions and screenings (through the 'PR20 Art Film Festival'). 

We are delighted to have been invited to exhibit our recent series of paintings at ProjectRoom2020. The project rooms helps to give visibility, albeit virtual, to the outcomes of the work we have been doing during the last year or so and which, because of the corona situation, continue being stuck in a dark space in a shut down exhibition in Spain, where it can not be visited. This generous support surprises us and motivates us to keep doing what we do, even with more resolve and determination (that is, incinerating our lives sticking blots of colour on a flat surface.)

La pintura protectora

Gerardo Elorriaga escribe en Territorios este fin de semana sobre 'Seres apátridas', la muestra de nuestras pinturas en colaboración en Torre de Ariz: 

'La pintura protectora'

Raisa Raekallio y Misha del Val comparten lienzos y una visión libre de la práctica pictórica.

 

La Visión de los náufragos cubiertos por una manta térmica es ya un icono de nuestro tiempo. La televisión ha difundido profusamente escenas reales de individuos ateridos, generalmente sentados en la cubierta de un barco de rescate y cobijados por esa prenda metálica. Raisa Raekallio y Misha del Val utilizan el imaginario colectivo para construir una metáfora en torno a la pintura, entendida, en su caso, como una práctica que, de alguna manera, también les protege y, sobre todo, confiere sentido a sus vidas. La exposición “Seres apátridas', recién inaugurada en la Torre de Ariz, da cuenta del trabajo de esta pareja formada por finlandesa y vasco, residentes en Laponia, que pintan a cuatro manos. La muestra forma parte del programa de esta entidad, todo un itinerario por el arte emergente y consolidado de la escena local.

La muestra no pretende ser una estricta reflexión sobre el fenómeno contemporáneo de los desplazamientos políticos. El punto de partida es, en todo caso, una propuesta para hablar de esa condición del individuo, sin relación con un origen, identidad, género o clase social, sometido a un constante proceso de cambio, a veces generado por la pérdida. Sus rostros aparecen desvaídos, inacabados, desvelan su vulnerabilidad y pierden protagonismo frente a esa manta de aluminio que se extiende en primer plano, con efectos tornasolados. La pieza de abrigo se convierte en un caleidoscopio, el reflejo de todo un mundo que apenas se atisba. 

Esa ambigúedad constituye uno de los atractivos de la exposición, una propuesta de sorprendente coherencia formal, a pesar de ser fruto de dos autores. «No permitimos que las ideas limiten nuestra aventura», apuntan. «Queremos que la obra pueda generar múltiples interpretaciones». La creación de Raekallio y Del Val apela a las emociones sin caer en el sentimentalismo. Su vida, en las inmediaciones del Ártico, está condicionada por la influencia del clima extremo, pero el pintor bilbaíno niega una influencia directa. «No me gustaría caer en el romanticismo de Gauguin», advierte, aunque señala la influencia de esa poderosa naturaleza. «Se impone y aparece otro tipo de saber, basado en la intuición, que se traslada a la pintura».

Hasta el 29 de marzo.

La nación transparente y la casa de madera

Video de nuestra performance 'La nación transparente y la casa de madera' presentada en la Fundación Bilbaoarte el pasado 5 de marzo. Y tú donde buscas refugio?

. . . . .  

Footage from our performance 'The Transparent Nation and the Wooden House' presented at Bilbaoarte Foundation last 5.3. And you, where do you seek refuge?

https://vimeo.com/396889645

Seres Apátridas

Raisa Raekallio & Misha del Val 

'Seres Apátridas'

Torre de Ariz, Bilbao

28.2 - 6.7.2020

Apátridas

This morning, through the narrow opening of our kitchen window, we saw, walking pass our backyard, someone who had left everything behind. They didn’t know their name (although they made up one in the spot to satisfy our immodest curiosity). They couldn’t really tell whether they were a man, or a woman, or a girl, or a boy, or anything in between, or anything beyond. They didn’t seem to recall belonging to any Homeland, nor having any other direction than gently moving forward; their steps leaving a graceful trace on the snow. They kept walking silently, looking pleasantly at the open sky, carrying nothing in their pockets, softly breathing in the crispy morning air, until they just got lost in the distance.

New website

Our new website with the nuts and bolts of our collaboration.

www.raekalliodelval.com

Space Refugees in Bilbao

Our current series of paintings in Bilbao.

Photos: Koldo Jones and Victor Landeta, thank you x

Taidemaalariliiiton 90-vuotisjuhlanäyttely

Galleria Napa (Rovaniemi) hosts until 23.10 an exhibition celebrating the Finnish Painters' Union's 90th year on the road. The exhibition, organised by the Artists' Association of Lapland, features some of our recent paintings in collaboration, in the formidable company of works by artists Markku Heikkilä, Henri Hagman, Juhani Tuominen, Sanna Haimila, Pirkko Mäkelä-Haapalinna, Noora Ylipieti, Paula Suominen, Pertti Lohiniva and Satu Kalliokuusi.

'Y Ahora Qué?' Oil on linen, 162 x 138 cm. 2018

Space Blankets in Lapland

Until the end of the month Raisa Raekallio's and Misha del Val's Space Blankets paintings at Särestöniemi Museum café-reception.

In the artist couple’s current artistic project Space Refugees a bunch of mysterious, outer-space beings, endowed with space blankets, flee their distant worldhomes and seek refuge in our planet. The paintings, dominated by a sombre atmosphere, show the journey of these space migrants: some still wander with their families in a dark limbo, some have already made it to Lapland, and the least fortunate float, like Dr. Frank Poole in that unforgettable scene of 2001 Space Odyssey, in the void of space.

A central, common element in these paintings is the silver and golden glittering space blanket, which provides protection (and hope) to the vulnerable creatures from the cold, dark, harsh conditions. Perhaps, the artists identify with these homeless refugees of space, looking for shelter, meaning and sanity in their own space blanket of art making.

 

 

Captain Painting and Space Refugees in Space Blankets

'Captain Painting and Space Refugees in Space Blankets' (oil on linen, 145 x 170) completed during our recent stay in Kakslauttanen for the Arctic Art Week. The folds in the space blankets play with the patterns of the windows in the Kakslauttanen planetarium, where the painting will find its home.

 

II Sirkka Arte Biennale

Second edition of the biannual art event taking place in the buildings and outdoor locations of our property in Sirkka; with works (paintings, photographs, drawings, video, tele-gig) of artists from Kittilä, Rovaniemi, Imatra and Helsinki. Curated by Misha del Val.

Arctic Art Summit 2019

The 3 days of thought-provoking debates at the Arctic Art Summit 2019 in Rovaniemi are now over. Hot arctic issues, such as the the necessity for the North to make its own decisions and the risks of exoticization, have been well delved into. Meaningful connections have been established between people working diligently for the sustainable development of culture in the Arctic. We come out of it refreshed with new perspectives, thrilled with prospects and, we may say, with one last consideration: the term ‘arctic’, that so many are willing to display on their lapels and titles, proves to be as useful as far as a 'working definition' goes. Beyond that, when you try to pin it down, delimit its actual boundaries, create adherence to it, the term reveals its unreliable, unsubstantial character and its inability to call forth a description of something actual, for its nature is just that of a mental construct fundamentally rooted on subjective experience. (Similarly, we can enjoy nowadays a wide offer of fashionable concepts, terms and labels, that when worn a little too tightly, tend to foster hierarchies between people and nicely make you feel more special) #arcticartssummit

As a finale of their performance, the collective Nordting invites the audience to celebrate their Nordic-ness by drinking vodka on the stage.

 

Suuri kiitos Taiken Lapin rahastolle ja jurylle päätöksestään tukea taiteellista yhteistyötämme! Tämän apurahan turvin voimme rauhallisin mielin astella aamuisin studioon ja kehittää yhteistyötämme kevein sydämin seuraavan kuuden kuukauden ajan. Onnittelut myös muille apurahansaajille!

Thank you Arts Promotion Centre Finland, the Lapland Regional Fund, and the persons in the jury for supporting our artistic collaboration!

Upcoming Exhibitions

-tm galleria, Helsinki, Finland, July 2020 (solo)

-Torre de Ariz Cultural Centre, Bilbao, Spain, Feb 2020 (solo)

-Artists' Association of Lapland 'Artist of the Month', Korundi Art Museum, Rovaniemi, Finland, 2020 (solo)

-Taidemaalariliiton juhlavuoden näyttely, galleria Napa, Oct 2019 (group)

-'Särestön kahvilan kuukauden taiteilija', Särestöniemi Museum, Kaukonen, Finland, Sep 2019 (solo)

-Ars Kärsämäki 2019, Finland, June-July 2019 (group)


Current exhibitions:

-'Echoes from the North / Kaikuja pohjoisesta’, Galleria Kakslauttanen, Finland (group)

-'Kuvataideviikot', galleria Napa, Rovaniemi, Finland (group)

-Kittilä Library, Kittilä, Finland (solo)

tm galleria - Helsinki, 2020

Ilouutinen tänään, maalauksista ja keramiikkaveistoksista koostuva Galactic Refugees-teossarjamme tulee näytteille tm-galleriaan 2020. Hienoa päästä Helsinkiin näyttelynpitoon ensimmäistä kertaa!

Today we received the notification that the series of paintings and ceramics we are currently working on 'Galactic Refugees' will be in exhibition at tm galleria in Helsinki in 2020. 

Here in periferia

Aineen reissu

Olipa hienoa käydä tämäniltaisissa Aineen taidemuseon uuden näyttelyn avajaisissa, Joel Karppasen valokuvia ja videoteos Veikko Halmetojan kuratoimana. Pääsimme myös näkemään museokokoelmia, mikä on aina herkullista, ja maistamaan vegaanisia tarjoiluja. Vahva suositus näytelyille! Kuvissa Raisa Joel Karppasen koskettavan punainen Kemi - aiheisen videoteoksen äärellä ja tsekkaamassa naapuriamme Palsaa. 

A week of Art in Helsinki

Thank you Helsinki for having treated us so well. We are now on a train north back home to Lapland, after an exciting, edifying and fruitful week in the city, seeing lots of art and meeting a nice bunch of humans 💪

On our first day wandering about the streets of the centre we bumped into to the paintings of Mari Sunna through the glass window of galleria Anhava. The exhibition offered us -who live surrounded by paintings- another yet extraordinary painting experience: we were compelled to lay down our eyes carefully on the paintings, as they seemed to crumble and fade away by our own very act of looking. 

The next day, the day of Misha's 40th birthday, we spent three and a half unforgettable hours at Wuorila-Stenberg Henry working-space, sharing a conversation on the sweet and sour of life in a birthday gift sent by the cheeky gods governing this universe. 

On Tuesday we traveled to Espoo for the underpublicised, boyish-kind-of display of collaborative works by Daniel Richter, Tal R and Jonathan Meese at EMMA Museum.  

Veikko Halmetoja welcomed us with a cup of tea on Wednesday at ARTag, his art-space in Hietalahdenjatu, and presented us with his wide knowledge on the local art scene. 

On Thursday before hitting the night with our friends Kati Karvonen, Anu Välitalo and Reetta Sironen for some perinteistä suomalaista musiikkia in Kallio, we joined in Heidi Lampenius for the vernissage of her handsome show of abstract paintings at Helsinki Contemporary. 

The following day we discovered Umut Kiukas little quirky space -Make Your Mark- at the opening of Jani Hänninen dynamic works on paper. 

Over two different evenings, Friday and Wednesday, we attended two very different, but equally fabulous gigs at galleria Huuto and galleria Rankka.

At the weekend we encountered at A2 Galleria Ilari Kähönen's sensitive and sensual processes of creating colourful drawings. We were pleased to find a painting in Kiasma (although it 'had to' include headphones and a soundtrack next to it to be 'in') and were touched by a series of works on old-age at HAM. And, of course, we visited Forsblom with accomplice Hanna Kari to confirm what ios common knowledge: no matter what you put on those walls, they just become red dots. 

Yesterday on our last day on the capital we went back to Rankka with our sister Helka Rissanen to meet artist Jyrki Riekki, who very gallantly showed us around the space and from whom we purchased a small but intense artwork for our own collection.

Thank you Terhi Vuorinen and Kati Ruohomäki for opening the doors of your homes, kitchens and hearts, and take us in with such a warm effortless hospitality.

A bit of a pity we didn't take any pictures of these meetings and events, but then again...

Kiitos Helsinki, nähdään taas. Palataan!