Aleksandra Ionowa – Visions of the Spirit World and Peace 8.2.–1.6.2025

The exhibition Aleksandra Ionowa – Visions of the Spirit World and Peace, opening at the Gallen-Kallela Museum in February 2025, will highlight a Finnish artist that few have even heard of.

Aleksandra Ionowa (1899–1980) was known by her inner circle as a remarkable mystic artist who was believed to play an important role in the spiritual development of humanity. Just as the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint, Ionowa made her art under the guidance of higher spiritual beings. The exhibition is curated by the Donner Institute’s research doctor Nina Kokkinen, who has specialized in the study of art and religion.

A seeker between cultures and religions

Ionowa’s art has fascinated not only spiritual seekers but also artists from various disciplines to this day. Ionowa’s inner circle included Pekka Ervast, Finland’s most famous Theosophist, and Aino Kassinen, dubbed the nation’s favourite clairvoyant, as well as a whole host of other interesting cultural and artistic figures, such as sculptor Wäinö Aaltonen. 

Although Aleksandra Ionowa’s family came from Russia, she spent most of her life in the Lahti region in Finland with her life companion and soul sister Selma Mäkelä (1892–1975). Ionowa’s transnational identity compelled her to search for answers in the spirit world to the conflicts between Finland and Russia. She wanted to build a bridge between her two homelands and combine her Theosophical worldview with Eastern Orthodoxy.

The exhibition sheds light on the contexts of Ionowa’s mediumistic and visionary art and the esoteric communities in which Ionowa and Mäkelä were active. It also brings forth the previously invisible women’s networks woven by Theosophists, co-masons and other women interested in spirituality in mid-20th century Finland.

Research publication on Ionowa to accompany the exhibition

In addition to the exhibition, the Gallen-Kallela Museum, Ionowa Society and research doctor Nina Kokkinen will produce a research publication on Ionowa’s art and her life’s work highlighting also the importance of Ionowa’s life partner Selma Mäkelä in 20^th century esotericism in Finland.

Article image: Aleksandra Ionowa: Flower to Alli Paasikivi. The image of the work has been cropped.

Enquiries and exhibition tour reservations: info@gallen-kallela.fi