Marika Mäkelä: Light of the Sand
Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki
September 26 – October 26, 2025
Marika Mäkelä’s new paintings take us on a journey to places both familiar and unknown. Often, it is precisely the unknown that reveals the familiar in a new light. This exhibition is a synthesis of her experiences: influences gathered from many places merge into worlds of their own. Disparate realities intersect in her work – her paintings are like cultural melting pots, where movement and insight are distilled as images.
Marika Mäkelä has spent long periods in Spain and Morocco, and the influence of these cultures is deeply embedded in her art. Her travels have left visible traces: certain shapes, colors, and qualities of light have remained with her. Spain, for instance, has inspired her interest in angular forms, in the way shapes extend beyond the canvas, and in the contrasts and encounters between materials.
Yet two elements always lie at the heart of her paintings: light and form – their observation and dissection. Her new works reveal a recent fascination with the play of light on sand. They reflect the mutable nature of sand in shifting contexts, from desert expanses to swirling storms. Sand-inspired clusters of form and thought have also found their way into her compositions. A figurative element emerges too, articulating rhythm and carrying the narrative forward. This narrativity grows out of experiences that entwine thoughts, landscapes, places, and journeys – finally crystallizing in Mäkelä’s mind in the form of a painting.
Marika Mäkelä (b. 1947) is one of Finland’s most eminent painters. In a career spanning six decades, she has received many of the nation’s highest artistic honors, including the State Prize, the Pro Finlandia Medal, and the title of Commander of the Order of the Lion of Finland. In 2024, the President of the Republic of Finland awarded her the honorary title of professor. Marika Mäkelä’s works are represented in major international museums, including Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Oslo, and Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki.
GALERIE FORSBLOM
Yrjönkatu 22, 00120 Helsinki
