Artists of the Month (December 2023) of the Artists’ Association of Lapland
Painting #2 is a work in collaboration by Kittilä-based artist couple Raisa Raekallio and Misha del Val. The painting was conceived at the heart of last year’s winter in Sirkka forest, where the artists live and work. The work explores the spiritual dimension of being in the forest, and the affective relationships between trees and humans.
The sweeping composition transits from a group of tree-huggers on the left – their limbs gently embracing the bodies of the plants – to a full-blown eclosion of psychedelic extravaganza on the right; passing through a scene of mystical characters, imaginably forest spirits, gathering around a table, and a couple kissing passionately under a liquid moon. At the centre sits a curious owl, flanked by everyday objects, such as a pair of woollen mittens and a nokipannu. Painting #2 summons up a sense of intimacy within nature, that seems to breathe, fluctuate, glow, and posses its own quirky presence.
Painting #2 is constituted of five panels of oil on linen, and it is the artist couple’s largest scale work to date (alongside Painting #1, both presented during the XXVII edition of the Mänttä Art Festival earlier this year).
Artists’ contact info:
- E-mail:
- Homepage: www.raekalliodelval.com