A new exhibition Heavenly Light will open at the Valamo Monastery Cultural Centre on Friday, May 10, 2024.
The exhibition features paintings and angel-themed icons by artist Petri Ala-Maunus. The exhibition will be on display until the end of 2025. The exhibition has been curated by producer Liisa Heikkilä-Palo and conservator Antti Narmala.
The paintings of Petri Ala-Maunus (b.1970) meet the angels of icons in the Heavenly Light exhibition. The Valamo Monastery is a new context for Ala-Maunus's works, which can also be seen this summer at the Ateneum and the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma. In the Heavenly Light exhibition, the juxtaposition of Ala-Maunus' paintings and old and newer icons with angel motifs opens up new surprising perspectives for the viewer.
Ala-Maunus's central subject is untamed nature; he has been painting landscapes since the 1990s. His inspirations have included German and North American landscape painting, among others. Ala-Maunus creates his imaginary landscapes by combining details found in different sources. In front of the large-scale works, the viewer can experience the astonishment and awe associated with both the encounter with art and the experience of nature.
"I do not depict people in my paintings; my landscapes lack people or traces of people. It is a relief to look at the landscape without the burden of people", says Petri Ala-Maunus. He is interested in icon painting, icon imagery and, of course, the landscapes depicted in them. In addition to earlier paintings, the exhibition also features brand new paintings created on icon bases.
Angels, bringers of light, have inspired artists throughout the ages. The most well-known angel motif in Finland is probably the image of a guardian angel dressed in white, found in many homes, guarding two children who are crossing a dangerous-looking bridge.
Church tradition knows seven archangels by name. The best-known are Michael, the leader of the heavenly host, 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 the above, the icons on display also depict seraphim, cherubim, thrones, principalities and powers, and other rarer groups of angels.
Angels appear in icons as beings who protect, serve, and appear, as messengers. Angelic help can be very concrete. The Bible and church tradition tell us something about the service tasks of angels. Some of them, such as protecting the earth and safeguarding nations, are very relevant in the midst of global warming, the loss of animal species and wars.
The icons have been collected from the collections of the Riisa Church Museum, the Valamo Monastery, the Katri and Harri Willamo and the Sofia Cultural Centre. Also on display are angel icons by contemporary Finnish icon painters, a significant number of which were painted at the Valamo Institute.
