In Valamo Monastery's exhibition space, artist Petri Ala-Maunus's paintings meet the angels of icons in the collections of Valamo and Riisa.

The exhibition is open until the end of 2025.

Admission fee 12 €, the same ticket also includes access to the Monastery Museum.

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Valamo Monastery is a new kind of context for his paintings, which are usually exhibited in galleries and museum exhibitions, for example, in the newly opened collection exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki. The juxtaposition of Petri Ala-Maunus's paintings and old and newer angel-themed icons, opening in Valamo in the summer, opens up new surprising perspectives for the viewer.

“In my paintings, I do not depict people; my landscapes lack human presence or traces. It is relieving to view a landscape without the burden of humans,” says Ala-Maunus. He is interested in icon painting, the iconography of icons, and, of course, the landscapes depicted in them. “In addition to my earlier paintings, Valamo also features brand new works that I have created on new icon boards.”

The most familiar angel motif for Finns is probably the image found in many homes of a guardian angel dressed in white, protecting two children crossing a dangerous-looking bridge. Although the biblical descriptions of angels are sparse, their significance and role have inspired artists throughout history. Angels play an important part in salvation history: they brought the good news to Mary, the Mother of God, announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds, and met the myrrh-bearing women on Easter morning. The guardian angel protects us on our paths and walks beside us from cradle to grave. Church tradition knows seven archangels by name, the most famous of whom are Michael, leader of the heavenly hosts, Gabriel, who brought the good news to Mary, and Raphael, who appears in the Book of Tobit. The exhibition features old angel-themed icons from the collections of the Riisa Church Museum and Valamo Monastery, as well as folk icons from the collection of Katri and Harri Willamo. Additionally, angel icons by contemporary Finnish icon painters are displayed.

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Petri Ala-Maunus

Artist Petri Ala-Maunus (b. 1970 Kuortane) has in recent years explored apocalyptic paradise landscapes in his paintings, depicting a kind of supernatural realm, an idea of a landscape composed of many parts. He aims to create an untypical emotional state, an affect, for landscape painting through large scale or through form and color. The meticulous painting surface of Ala-Maunus' works hides menace within vast, sweeping forests, waterfalls, clouds, and mountains, creating a powerful sense of natural experience.

Exhibition Announcement

In Valamo Monastery's Cultural Center, a new exhibition, Heavenly Light, opens on Friday, May 10, 2024.

The exhibition features paintings by artist Petri Ala-Maunus and angel-themed icons. The exhibition is open until the end of 2025. The exhibition was curated by producer Liisa Heikkilä-Palo and conservator Antti Narmala.

Petri Ala-Maunus's (b. 1970) paintings meet the angels of icons in the Heavenly Light exhibition. Valamo Monastery is a new kind of context for Ala-Maunus's works, which can also be seen this summer at Ateneum and the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma. In the Heavenly Light exhibition, the juxtaposition of Ala-Maunus's paintings and old and newer angel-themed icons opens up new surprising perspectives for the viewer.

Ala-Maunus's central theme is untamed nature; he has been painting landscapes since the 1990s. His inspirations have included German and North American landscape painting. Ala-Maunus creates his imaginary landscapes by combining details found from various sources. In front of the large-scale works, the viewer can experience wonder and reverence related to both encountering art and experiencing nature.

“In my paintings, I do not depict people; my landscapes lack human presence or traces. It is relieving to view a landscape without the burden of humans,” says Petri Ala-Maunus. He is interested in icon painting, the iconography of icons, and, of course, the landscapes depicted in them. In addition to earlier paintings, the exhibition also features brand new paintings that have been created on icon boards.

Angels, bringers of light, have inspired artists throughout history. In Finland, the most familiar angel motif is probably the image found in many homes of a guardian angel dressed in white, protecting two children crossing a dangerous-looking bridge.

Church tradition knows seven archangels by name. The most famous are Michael, leader of the heavenly hosts, Gabriel, who brought the good news to Mary, and Raphael, who appears in the Book of Tobit, whose name refers to healing. In addition to those mentioned above, the icons on display also depict seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominions, and powers, as well as other rarer groups of angels.

The help of angels can be very concrete. The Bible and Church tradition tell us something about the service tasks of angels. Some of these, such as protecting the earth and safeguarding nations, are very timely amidst global warming, loss of animal species, and wars.

The icons have been gathered from the collections of the Riisa Church Museum, Valamo Monastery, Katri and Harri Willamo, and Cultural Center Sofia. Also on display are angel icons by contemporary Finnish icon painters, a significant part of which were painted at Valamo Folk High School.