Galerie Forsblom is pleased to announce that works by Heikki Marila, Marika Mäkelä, and Kerttu Saali have been acquired for the collection of the Finnish Cultural Foundation and placed at Mäntyniemi, the Official Residence of the President of the Republic of Finland.
Following the completion of the renovation of Mäntyniemi, President of the Republic of Finland Alexander Stubb and Suzanne Innes-Stubb wish to honour Finnish contemporary art by placing works by fourteen artists at Mäntyniemi. The Finnish Cultural Foundation is responsible for the selection of artists and the overall planning of the Mäntyniemi × Contemporary Art project.
The works placed at Mäntyniemi include pieces by Heikki Marila, Marika Mäkelä, and Kerttu Saali, all represented by Galerie Forsblom.
Known for his massive oil paintings and intense themes – including variations on art historical subjects as well as biblical and historical motifs – Heikki Marila (b. 1966) is a leading figure in the Finnish contemporary art scene. Marila captures the intensity of painting traditions and reinterprets them through the lens of contemporary social and visual discourses. Marila has exhibited widely in Finland, the Nordic countries, and Europe. In 2025, he had a large solo exhibition at the Sara Hildén Art Museum. His works are represented in numerous notable collections, including the Sara Hildén Art Museum, the Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art, the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, the TIA Collections in the United States, and the Ståhl Collection in Sweden. He won the Carnegie Art Award in 2012.
In a career spanning six decades, Marika Mäkelä has established herself as an unflinchingly bold and continually surprising painter. Her radically evolving technique bears witness to her daring spirit of creative renewal: she has taken up woodworking tools alongside her paintbrush and replaced canvas with heavy wooden panels. Her works push boundaries, compelling us to reflect on the boundary between painting and sculpture. Mäkelä was awarded the State Art Committee’s State Prize in 1974 and the Finnish Cultural Fund Prize in 1994. Her work has been exhibited widely in Finland and internationally, including in Stockholm, Paris, Cologne, and Copenhagen. In 2024, she was awarded the honorary title of Professor by the President of Finland.
For Kerttu Saali (b. 1990), the basic elements of painting – color, light, and form – are central to her practice. She is conceptually and stylistically influenced by earlier painters, such as the Impressionists, particularly in their treatment of light. Her works consistently evoke something beyond the reach of words, and the unconscious dimension of art has fascinated Saali since she began painting. Kerttu Saali graduated from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 2023. She has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including those at Kunsthalle Helsinki, Vantaa Art Museum Artsi, and Sara Hildén Art Museum. Her work is included in several public collections, such as the Saastamoinen Foundation, the City of Tampere, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, and Vantaa Art Museum Artsi.
Galerie Forsblom congratulates the artists on this recognition and is honoured to see the artists’ works included in the Mäntyniemi × Contemporary Art project.
