Gallery Aski: Jaana Valtari –  TOWARDS THE PERIPHERY

The exhibition presents oil paintings in which one wanders through different landscapes – along shores, in the mountains, or across wetlands – heading towards an unknown region: the periphery. Why are the people in these works moving away from the center, ”deeper into the sticks”, as the song says? Why have they set out on a laborious journey towards Nothing, with the only reward being a fleeting glimpse of a beautiful natural landscape?

The periphery surrounds us everywhere, 360 degrees. When one sets out in any direction and walks far enough, one eventually reaches the periphery. It appears as the least attractive of all destinations: uninteresting, worthless, bleak, entirely useless. Impossible to sell, impossible to brand, it has never been at the forefront of development – not even close to the standard. It is a region where the gaze tends to drift away, dull, harsh, and reluctant.

And yet the mood in these paintings is calm. In the quiet edge the air feels lighter. There is space, there is time. The struggle for room is less brutal. Perhaps the periphery is not a wasteland after all, but the very place where today’s restless humans might finally breathe.

Flowing water carries life and also flows through this exhibition. An example of this is the abstract work River(2025), which is like a refreshing resting place for a traveler in the midst of a harsh wilderness. In the circular works Kehrä (2024), the gaze is directed upwards to the sky, as seen through the eyes of a traveler lying on their back.

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Jaana Valtari is a painter from Turku. She graduated as Bachelor of Fine Arts from TUAS Arts Academy in 2012. After graduating, she has regularly held solo exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions both in Finland and abroad. Valtari has extensively studied human wandering and the wanderlust in her works. Her works are included in the collections of the Salon Art Museum, the University of Jyväskylä, and the Åbo Akademi Foundation. Valtari has a studio at Art House Turku.

Welcome to the opening on Thursday, August 28, from 5 to 7 PM!

An artist talk will take place on Tuesday, September 9, from 5 to 6 PM. Welcome!