Bio
Valentina Gelain received her master's degree in visual arts from the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, Italy, in 2017. She is currently based in Korsnäs, Ostrobothnia.
Through subjective experience and introspection, Gelain investigates issues related to human existentialism, drawing directly from the mental, emotional, symbolic, and dreamlike spheres, often setting her work in rural and natural scenarios.
In recent years, the artist has been exploring a multidisciplinary approach to research and practice, leading her to work with video, photography, performance, installation, poetry, and more. The projects 'The Grey Hour' and 'The Peaks' are examples of recent bodies of work that span different artistic disciplines.
The art film 'The Peaks' premiered in January 2024 at the Ostrobothnian Museum in Vaasa, and the project 'The Grey Hour' in its entirety was featured at the duo exhibition 'Dripping Cavities' at Vaasa Art Gallery - Vaasa City Museums (November 2023 - January 2024).
Furthermore, ‘The Peaks’ body of work is featured in the exhibition cycle ‘The Shell Cracked’, which began in 2025 and will run until 2027. Among the ten exhibitions, those taking place in 2027 will be held at the Tempus Gallery at the Pietarsaari Museum and at the Galleria Ars Libera in Kuopio.
The video ‘The Grey Hour’, on the other hand, forms part of the collection ‘Where do you come from, where are you going?’, which has been presented at various events in Finland and abroad, organised by MUU ry, Etelä-Karjalan Taiteilijaseura, and Korutaideyhdistys ry.
Gelain has received grants from different state and private organizations, such as Svenska Kulturfonden, Svensk-Österbottniska Samfundet, the City of Vaasa, and others, for projects, exhibitions, and personal work. She was awarded the Regional Grant and the Artist Grant by Taike in 2023 and for 2025, and as a working group, the artist was awarded a six-month grant from Suomen Kulttuurirahasto in 2026.
The artist is a member of the Artists' Association MUU, and her work is included in the AV-arkki archive. Gelain was a guest artist for the Kuvata Webinar focusing on ‘As an Artist in a Sparsely Populated Area', organised by Tampere University of Applied Sciences, the University of Lapland’s Faculty of Art, and Globe Art Point in January 2025.
In 2025, Gelain also won the Exibart Prize, and the video work ‘The Grey Hour’ is now part of their private collection. Also in Italy, Gelain has been selected to participate in the sixth edition of ReA! Art Fair, opening in Milan in October 2026.
Since 2023, Gelain has been working with peer Bekim Hasaj as a duo.
Their inspiration draws from the rural and natural environment, investigating possible manifestations within the land to deeply engage with its physicality, reflecting through entities to penetrate symbolism that leads back to our species, to realize our place in the whole.
Currently, the artists are focusing on and developing their research and work in rural and natural areas. In connection with public cultural activities in these places, the Frans Henriksson Fund grant was awarded to them as a working group for 2025–2026.
In 2026, the artistic duo reopened the site-specific exhibition ‘The Hidden Spots’ with the Vaasa Museums in Övermark and launched the ‘Nature into Geometry’ art trail in Korsnäs. Future site- and context-specific exhibitions by the two artists are planned in collaboration with the City of Vaasa in late 2026, and with the Vaasa Museums in early 2027.