Raija Malka

Raija Malka (b. 1959), originally from Turku, is a Lisbon and Helsinki-based artist. She studied at Aalto University and completed her education with Daniel Graffin in Paris. Since her first solo showcase in 1987, she has exhibited regularly in Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, and Sweden. In addition to painting and site-specific works, she is active as a stage and costume designer for theatre and opera productions, as well as in art education.

Raija Malka

”The light of my home city, Lisbon, is extreme. It can be harsh at midday. The blinding brightness makes your eyes hurt and turns the scenery around the sun black. Light is essential to see, but its extremes are close to total darkness. As a painter, I find different levels of light fascinating and observe them endlessly. Light phenomena are always dramatic, so painting light adds different meanings to my work. Light can be totally unnatural and still plausible.

The El Greco painting, ”El entierro del señor de Orgaz,” located in the Santo Tomé Church, Toledo made a lasting impression on me. Every character has their own invisible source of light, and the end result is a truly affecting work of art. Enlightenment, finding light, is a spiritual state, too.”