The Rudolf Koivu – A Fairytale Illustrator Exhibition, currently on display at Valamo Monastery's Cultural Centre, will be renewed in September.
The highly popular exhibition has so far attracted 13,800 visitors, and the exhibition season is now halfway through.
The renewal of the Exhibition is due to the original works' sensitivity to light. The works on display can only be exhibited for a limited time, which is why some of the works will be replaced with new ones in early September. At the same time, the Exhibition's content will be updated according to the season. The new works will feature themes related to winter and Christmas alongside familiar fairytale themes. The Exhibition will still retain a large collection of high-quality enlargements, which will be on display until the end of the Exhibition. The Library's book and magazine exhibition will also remain unchanged.
Rudolf Koivu is especially known for his fairytale illustrations, and the autumn collection will also include illustrations from his earlier, self-written fairytales. Among others, a symbolist-inspired and French-influenced illustration series for the tale Sister and Brother from 1929 will be presented, as well as illustrations for the work A Tale of Giants, Witches, and the Sun Daughter (1935). Also included are several illustrations for Raul Roine's fairytales and pictures from children's favorite Joulupukki magazines.
The Exhibition's themes traverse historical settings as well as the worlds of nature and imagination. The Wheel of Time connects historical costumes and environments to the fairytale world, while The Adventures of Raindrops takes the viewer to an underwater world, among butterflies, and into summer garden atmospheres.
The Christmas atmosphere is particularly evident in the illustrations of the Christmas Dream tale and the striking cover images of the Joulupukki magazines. Additionally, on display is, among others, an atmospheric elf-themed illustration for the poem Nukku Matti from 1919, which is among Rudolf Koivu's earliest illustrations for the Joulupukki magazine. The illustrations from Maaseudun laskentokirja and Olavi Pesonen's Laulukirja, in turn, represent children's everyday life and living in the 1930s.
The works in the Exhibition are on loan from the collections of the Amer Cultural Foundation at the Tuusula Art Museum. The Exhibition has been curated by cultural producer Liisa Heikkilä-Palo and exhibition curator Päivi Ahdeoja-Määttä from the Tuusula Art Museum.
The Exhibition is open daily until 15.1.2027 at Valamo Monastery's Cultural Centre. The exhibition ticket also grants admission to the Monastery Museum.
The Exhibition is open 28.3 - 15.1.2027.
Admission 12 € / Adult. Free for visitors under 18 years old.
The same ticket also grants admission to the Monastery Museum.
