The exhibition will be opened by fashion designer Dóra Konsánszky.

Maria B Raunio, who originally wanted to become a mathematician, studied in Japan and Italy, before eventually acquiring her degree at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts in Budapest. As a Finnish painter, she is the artistic director and teacher at the Porras Academy - Fine Arts Summer School in Finland, and also an enthusiastic organizer of the cultural life between the two countries. She exhibits on a regular basis in Finland, Hungary, and other Central-Eastern Europen countries.

„My paintings are interpretations of women’s life, and are inspired by my own. There is nothing complicated or crafty about the topic; it’s very close to me, since I’m a woman and a mother.” Her northern origins unintentionally influence her art; the experience of solitude, which in this sense is far from being negative, is present in every boat and woman she ever painted. In her words: „The Friedrich-type, northern man, who stands by the sea, gazing into the distance, is only a tiny element of the vast Nature. This idea is suggested in my mother’s habit, when she steps on the frozen lake in the winter, she looks at the infinite landscape surrounding her, contemplates in silence, and after long minutes have passed, she turns back. Her solitude is boundless, but her presence is strong and her harmonious coexistence with Nature is undeniable.”

In 2013, the Gallerija-Musej Lendava invited her for the 18th International Young Artists’ Fine Art Colony, where she was awarded the first prize together with the Ecuadorian Matias Armendaris.

Source and more ingo: Ari Kupsus Gallery