VALENTINA PALONEN

SPACE 2

Exhibition dates : 15 - 27 December 2026
Opening reception : Wed 16 December 2026, 6:00 - 8:30pm

Valentina Palonen is a Finnish-Australian visual artist based in Naarm/ Melbourne. Her practice draws on colour, intuitive impulses and automatic painting and making to express affective experiences of the world. Embracing a fluid approach to painting, she invites spontaneous forms to emerge from her subconscious overlaying the mythological, psychological and experiential. Palonen views creation as a collaboration with the subconscious self.

Valentina Palonen is an experienced painter and ceramicist with over 20 years experience in the field. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions in a variety of gallery spaces, has been shortlisted for national prizes, and won her residencies both locally and abroad, including at the Cité internationale des arts, Paris (2012 and 2015). She has completed a Master of Fine Arts (Research) at the VCA, The University of Melbourne (2012), and a Doctor Of Philosophy (Art) at RMIT University (2021). She is currently a tutor at Northcote Pottery Supplies.

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