Raija Malka: (Un)expecting

(Un)expecting is an exhibition, an installation, and a performance in which Raija Malka’s paintings take the leading role. At its dramaturgical core lies the question of how we look at and understand painting.

Malka constructs her studio within the exhibition space—an abstracted environment and a stage on which the paintings come alive. The exhibition connects to her ongoing exploration of the idea of space within space. While in the exhibition Blick (Amos Rex, 2021) visitors stepped directly into the artwork, (un)expecting pushes this idea further by asking how a static gallery space can be activated as a stage for painting. In the studio, the works shift their forms and positions from one wall to another—but how can the essence of the studio, the artist’s gaze and reflection, be brought into the exhibition space?

In Malka’s practice, spatiality, scale, and colour construct environments that do not guide the viewer toward linear interpretations or predefined meanings. In a conventional sense, (un)expecting may not fulfill expectations so much as dismantle them. Unpredictability is also present through Malka’s performative actions that take place during the exhibition. The overall work transforms and is reconfigured several times over the course of the spring. The performative objects are realized in collaboration with director Jean Paul Bucchieri.

PERFORMATIVE OBJECT
The performance (30 min) can be attended with a museum admission ticket on:
Thursday, Feb 5 at 5:30 pm (opening)
Sunday, Feb 8 at 2 pm
Saturday, Feb 21 at 2 pm + artist talk at 2:30 pm
Tuesday, Mar 3 at 5:30 pm
Sunday, Mar 15 at 2 pm

Raija Malka (b. 1959, Turku) studied at the University of Art and Design Helsinki and worked as an assistant to sculptor Daniel Graffin in Paris. Since her first solo exhibition in 1987, Malka has exhibited regularly in Finland and internationally. She lived and worked in Paris from 1991 to 1997 and in Lisbon from 2009 to 2025, where she held several exhibitions. Three-dimensional space, large volumes, and colour have always been central to her artistic interests. In addition to painting and site-specific works, she has created visual designs for theatre and opera productions. Malka currently works in Helsinki.

The artist’s work is supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation. The exhibition is supported by the Finnish Heritage Agency and Amos Anderson’s Fund. Malka’s works can also be seen at Söderlångvik Manor on Kimitoön.