Et usko mitä mie näin eilen iltäkävelyllä (You Wouldn´t Believe What I Saw Yesterday on My Evening Walk)
Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland, 28.11.2025 - 11.1.2026
Raisa Raekallio & Misha del Val, 'Trove', Oil on linen, 175 x 220 cm. 2025
Raisa Raekallio & Misha del Val, 'Summer', Oil on linen, 147 x 173 cm. 2025
Raisa Raekallio & Misha del Val 'The Sage, the Nun, the Channeler, and the Philosopher', Oil on linen, 147 x 173 cm. 2025
Raisa Raekallio & Misha del Val, 'Summer', Oil on linen, 147 x 173 cm. 2025
Raisa Raekallio & Misha del Val 'The Sage, the Nun, the Channeler, and the Philosopher', Oil on linen, 147 x 173 cm. 2025
You wouldn't believe what I saw yesterday on my evening walk. I saw a sneaky owl laughing at me. I saw Leaves of Grass, Halla Helle, La Divina Commedia exposed to the elements. I saw china utensils, vinyls, books, rainbows, pyramids, pahkakuppi, an astrolabe. I saw the Cosmic Dancer from the song. I saw a tandem running on mutual trust. I saw the Goddess of Summer lost in thought; she was just about to eat a croissant. I saw all kinds of whites: gelid, sweet, leaden, translucent, incandescent. I saw bits of care and wisdom buried under a spruce tree. I met someone who had loved the sun a bit too much. I saw Beyond. I noticed silent flames that drew me into a conversation. Deep deep in the forest, I found a piece of me. I saw the leftovers of a deep thinker.
On my way back, I chanced upon a breathing organism made up of skiers of different consistencies. Next to it, I glimpsed a small hut, and my soul sang for home. I encountered a creature who, as I passed, nodded at me. I saw Nicole, and I said hei. I saw Reidar, and I said hei. I saw Peter, and I said hei. Further down the path, I recognised one of our heroines waltzing her way along the snow, two or three inches above the ground. I stumbled, by some fluke, on that which wishes to be hidden, and hidden it remained. I also heard the whisper that keeps the fabric of our lives tied together. I told you! I told you wouldn't believe what I saw yesterday on my evening walk.
MdV
On my way back, I chanced upon a breathing organism made up of skiers of different consistencies. Next to it, I glimpsed a small hut, and my soul sang for home. I encountered a creature who, as I passed, nodded at me. I saw Nicole, and I said hei. I saw Reidar, and I said hei. I saw Peter, and I said hei. Further down the path, I recognised one of our heroines waltzing her way along the snow, two or three inches above the ground. I stumbled, by some fluke, on that which wishes to be hidden, and hidden it remained. I also heard the whisper that keeps the fabric of our lives tied together. I told you! I told you wouldn't believe what I saw yesterday on my evening walk.
MdV
Raisa Raekallio and Misha del Val have painted together for over a decade. Their collaboration is grounded in deep trust and mutual attentiveness – an atmosphere that allows both to express themselves freely, unbound by predefined roles or limitations. Their works emerge from a shared space where each voice is heard. For them, the studio is not only a place of work but a site of community, where trust and dialogue merge into a single creative process. Rather than diminishing their individuality, collaboration amplifies their respective strengths, giving rise to a unique shared reality. The painting process unfolds as a dialogue not only between the two artists, but also with the work itself: together, they listen to what the painting wishes to say, following where it leads. Gradually, each work begins to reveal its own character, and the artists respond sensitively to its guidance. For Raekallio and del Val, painting is a delicate balance between revealing and concealing.
Nature remains an enduring source of inspiration for both artists. Living amid the wilderness in the village of Sirka in Kittilä, the artists are keen observers of the shifting nuances of light, season, and atmosphere – changes that are especially striking in Lapland. In their new series, snow emerges as a dominant motif, within which surprising and incongruous figures appear: a skiing mystic, a nun, a philosopher – alongside whimsical objects such as fruit, flip-flops, or a laughing Great Grey Owl. The literature-loving pair have even hidden a bookshelf in the middle of the forest in their paintings. Through these playful twists, a dreamlike, gently distorted world unfolds from the majestic, snow-covered landscape.
Raisa Raekallio (born 1978, Kittilä) and Misha del Val (born 1979, Bilbao) have exhibited widely in Finland, the Nordic countries, and internationally. Their work has been shown at venues including the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Turku Art Museum, Rovaniemi Art Museum, and Oulu Art Museum. They have received several awards, including the Finnish Artists’ Association’s Award (2023) and the William Thuring Prize (2022). Their works are represented in numerous notable collections, including those of the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, the Wihuri Foundation, the Saastamoinen Foundation, the Niemistö Collection, and the BilbaoArte Collection.
Galerie Forsblom
Nature remains an enduring source of inspiration for both artists. Living amid the wilderness in the village of Sirka in Kittilä, the artists are keen observers of the shifting nuances of light, season, and atmosphere – changes that are especially striking in Lapland. In their new series, snow emerges as a dominant motif, within which surprising and incongruous figures appear: a skiing mystic, a nun, a philosopher – alongside whimsical objects such as fruit, flip-flops, or a laughing Great Grey Owl. The literature-loving pair have even hidden a bookshelf in the middle of the forest in their paintings. Through these playful twists, a dreamlike, gently distorted world unfolds from the majestic, snow-covered landscape.
Raisa Raekallio (born 1978, Kittilä) and Misha del Val (born 1979, Bilbao) have exhibited widely in Finland, the Nordic countries, and internationally. Their work has been shown at venues including the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Turku Art Museum, Rovaniemi Art Museum, and Oulu Art Museum. They have received several awards, including the Finnish Artists’ Association’s Award (2023) and the William Thuring Prize (2022). Their works are represented in numerous notable collections, including those of the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, the Wihuri Foundation, the Saastamoinen Foundation, the Niemistö Collection, and the BilbaoArte Collection.
Galerie Forsblom
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