Valentina Gelain (Feltre, 1992) is an interdisciplinary artists based in Ostrobothnia, Finland. She graduated in Visual Arts (BA-MA) from the Brera Academy of Fine Art, in Milan. Gelain is a member of Artists' Association MUU.
In 2022, she took part in a residency programme curated by Artists' Residecy Swap and the Finnish Institute in UK+Ireland, and was a finalist for We Art Open and Premio Combat Prize. Also, she was ranked second among the top 10 finalists in the Exibart Prize 23/24.
In recent years, she has received grants from different state and private organisations, such as Svenska Kulturfonden, Svensk-Österbottniska Samfundet, the City of Vaasa and so on, for projects, exhibitions and personal work. In 2023, she was awarded the Regional Grant by Taike, and has been granted the Artist Grant for 2025.Since 2018, Gelain has collaborated with peer Bekim Hasaj and have worked on public art, (long-term) projects and cultural initiatives, independent and otherwise, both nationally and internationally. Some collaborators' examples are Vaasa City Cultural Department, Malakta Art Factory, Collision Collective, Regional Dance Center of Ostrobothnia and so on.Over the past few years in Finland, the artists have strengthened their collaboration as a duo, and their research draws deeply from landscapes, the rural and natural areas, dealing with existential issues through introspection and self-awareness, exploring and trying to manifest the mental and psychological sphere.The most recent duo exhibition was 'Dripping Cavities' at Vaasa Art Gallery-Vaasa City Museums (November 2023-January 2024), that featured the multidisciplinary projects 'Scanning Landscape' by Hasaj and 'The Grey Hour' by Valentina Gelain. In 2023, the artists also completed the mural 'Awake', covering an entire barn in the fields of Övermark, as a pilot for the public art development project in rural areas (D.P.A.R.A.). One of the projects they will work on in 2024 is 'Translucid Skins-vibrations of us', with main body of work video art and outdoor interventions, and the interactive installation 'The Shell Cracked' that takes inspiration from Hasaj's sculptural series 'Shells', and Valentina Gelain's project and art film 'The Peaks'.The art film was premiered in January 2024 at the Ostrobothnian Museum in Vaasa, and was part of a site-spacific event in the new premises of Bock's Corner Village, also in Vaasa, on March 2024. 'DeepScape' event was organised in collaboration with Elokuvakeskus Botnia ry.In late 2023, she was invited as guest teacher to the University of Novia, in Jakobstad, to hold a course on the artistic process in relation to landscape and territory; in February 2024, she organized an intensive workshop on handmade paper and the uses in contemporary art. The position was shared with colleague Hasaj.
'Through subjective experience and introspection, Gelain investigates issues related to human existentialism, drawing directly from the mental and emotional, symbolic and dreamlike sphere.Her research is based on the practice of confrontation, openness and dialogue, trying to break down barriers, reach and touch the other through intimate reflections and genuine experiences.The artist wants to give space to parts of our being, invisible to the eye, which are often still rejected, misunderstood and victims of indifference, recalling the open mind and understanding of the others starting from ourselves.Stretching a thread between consciousness and unconsciousness, between vision and figuration, the balance oscillates between introspective investigation and the search for an empathic balance.Thanks to this plural opening of perceptions, various research themes are touched upon, such as inner conflicts, mental landscapes and redemption, through a synergy between form and content, between image and intention.Interdisciplinary artist, Gelain explores subjects and figurations through different languages and means of communication, which can help to best express her work vision.'
Venues where the artist and artist duo have exhibited include: MUU Helsinki Contemporary Art Centre-Cable Factory (Helsinki, Finland), Galleria Albert IX (Helsinki, Finland), Pasila Urban Art Center (Helsinki, Finland), Globe Art Point (Helsinki, Finland); Vaasa Art Gallery-Vaasa City Museums (Vaasa, Finland); Ostrobothnian Museum (Vaasa, Finland), Makers’ Gallery (Vaasa, Finland), Malakta Art Factory (Malax, Finland), CREA - Cantieri del Contemporaneo (Venice, Italy), Giovanni Fattori Museum (Livorno, Italy), Sale Agello (Crema, Italy), La Casa delle Artiste (Milan, Italy) and National Historical Museum of Tirana (Albania).Upcoming exhibition: 'The Shell Cracked', duo exhibition at Gallery 3H+K in January 2025 (Pori, Finland). About/Statement: www.blackboxgenesis.com/about-us/valentina-gelainCV: www.blackboxgenesis.com/about/valentina-gelain/curriculum-vitaePortfolio: www.kuvataiteilijamatrikkeli.fi/taiteilija/gelain-valentina
