EKA Gallery

Join us for the opening of the solo exhibition and performance on Thursday, November 5 at 8 PM. The exhibition will remain open until November 30.

Vaarik’s sixth solo exhibition is a continuation of her solo exhibition “Possessed” (2017). The expressive, provocative, daring and heartfelt show is about being a woman, a mother, about saving the world, raising children and cuddling. The artist is observing her close relationships and is seeking for conclusions to save the world.

“Skin is our contact with the world. Scroll up to your sleeves and stroke your arm with your hand. This is a feeling. We feel and learn to feel our bodies through strokes, pamper and cuddles. Sometimes there’s no need to overthink! Weird feelings create weird thoughts. But if you know it’s only that–a feeling–and you stop forcing yourself to collaborate with your brain, you can only feel without attributing linguistic meaning. Things are simply as they are. If we start to over-explain something we can mess it up.
We can try to save the world, but if we grow our children to be empathetic, they are doing it naturally. All humans grow inside their moms! I am lucky I was held tight.” – Marta Vaarik

Marta Vaarik (b. 1986) is an artist, photographer and self-proclaimed blond trickster based in Tallinn, Estonia. She holds a BFA degree in painting from the Estonian Academy of Arts and is currently studying Contemporary Art in the same university. She did an exchange program in UDK studying under professor Josephine Pryde. The current solo show at EKA Gallery is her sixth and she has participated in group shows in Berlin and Estonia. She works in the mediums of painting, photography, performance, and video.

Thanks: Sandra Mäesepp, Rebecca Künnis, Ülle Vaarik, Aadam Taaksalu, Andrus Vaarik, Kelly Turk, Margit Lõhmus, Sveta Grigorjeva, Piret Karro, Rasmus Neljand, Krislin Ots, Big Boy, Gunnar Laal, Taavi Lepp, Pire Sova, Johannes Luik, Kersti Heile

Exhibition title: Sveta Grigorjeva

Graphic design: Kersti Heile

The exhibition is supported by A. Le Coq.

Join us for the opening of the exhibition “Self-Care” on Friday, October 11 at 6 PM at EKA Gallery. Participating artists: Andre Joosep Arming, Hanna-Liisa Lavonen, Carol Katkoff, and Mari-Liis Sõrg. The curators of the exhibition are Kleer Keret Tali and Hanna-Liisa Lavonen.

Taking care of oneself could be an activity that you apply consciously to your everyday. For that, you take time out of or contrive that with your daily activities. Despite different interpretations of the word compound (self-care), it still symbolizes the freedom and assured well being of an individual. 

Four artists are deciphering the meaning of self-care and how they vary in different practices coming from the individual points of view. Self-care can be external and internal; mental and physical. Through the prism of being an artist, they are approaching this topic from different sides. 

The exhibition will remain open until November 2 and is part of the Tallinn Photomonth satellite programme.

Thanks to: Andrus Arming, Silvia Sosaar, Sarah Elizabeth Johnston, Hans-Gunter Loch, Aksel Haagensen, Mart Veelmaa, Kati Jõevere, Jana Niglas, Priit Luik, Katre Lehtpuu, Raner Piibur, Reimo Võsa-Tangsoo, Anne Eelmere, Jaan August Viirand, Annabel Konga, Kuldar Nool, Helle-Ly Tomberg, Maria Kurm, Kalle Tali

Supported by Cultural Endowment of Estonia

Join us for the opening of ”Terribly Beautiful” on September 11 at 6 PM at EKA Gallery! The exhibition, curated by EKA architecture students Merilin Kaup, Margus Tammik and Ulla Alla, is part of Tallinn Architecture Biennale TAB 2019 and is open until October 9.

Where lies the beauty of a school project? We propose that the most beautiful thing about school project is the venturing, vulnerability and complexity of the process, the notion of getting lost. In the facility for learning, failure is beautiful and ugly matters too! We are shifting focus from the outcome to the process in order to start an in-depth discussion about motives that drive us, values that we believe in, work methods that have served us and bizarre places our mind has taken us when possessed by the project. We want to bring this liminal period into the spotlight because beautiful representations and elaborated briefs can be found all over the internet!

The exhibition brings together master theses, first-year experiments and self-initiated side projects. All projects are essentially critical, either succeeded or failed explorations that are experimental in their approach or rather explore experimentation and play itself as a creative method and a way of learning.

Authors exhibited:
Aleksandr Delev
Alexander Angelov
Aleksandra Lilovska
Marin Markovski
Teodora Todorova
Ralitsa Timeva
Aspasia Strani
Campbell Taylor
Charles Curtin
Miguel Gilarte
Diana Carrillo Silva
Eleonore Devolder
Eugenio Superchi
Maja Piechwiak
Raya Dimitrova
Sara Garcia Santi
Viliam Fedorko

Curators: Merilin Kaup, Margus Tammik and Ulla Alla

The exhibition is part of Tallinn Architecture Biennale TAB 2019 program, which is produced by Estonian Center of Architecture.

The rescue from destruction of Dolores Hoffmann’s fresco ’Morning’ at the Cinema ’Rahu’ (’Peace’) in Kopli, Tallinn.

The exhibition is open from August 6 at the Gallery of the Estonian Academy of Arts at Põhja pst 7. The theme of the exhibition is a 74 m² fresco by Dolores Hoffmann that she completed as her graduation project – no longer in one piece today.

In 1963 Dolores Hoffmann, a future renowned monumentalist, professor and famous stained glass artist, painted an enormous mural ’Hommik’ (’Morning’) at the newly opened cinema ’Rahu’ (’Peace’). The earliest known Soviet era monumental fresco was painted on the basis of a draft graduation project from the ESSR State Art Institute. The artist used her friends and peers as models, the brothers Arrak, Jüri Palm, Evi Sepp and many others. She also included Ernest Hemingway, an idol writer for the youth of that era.

In 2019 the dilapidated cinema building was demolished to be replaced by a modern shopping centre. The 74 m² monumental work of art by Dolores Hoffmann would have been demolished in the process had the Department of Cultural Heritage and Conservation of the Estonian Academy of Arts not made it its mission to rescue at least parts of the fresco – about half of the painting was dismantled and preserved and pieces of it are kept in the Estonian Academy of Arts Museum.

This exhibition in the Estonian Academy of Arts Gallery on 6.8.–7.9.2019 tells the story of the rescue of the fresco ‘Hommik’. The monumental mural will be shown as a projection with the rescued fragments ‘planted’ into it. The exposition gives another chance to look at the artwork as a conditional whole – something that no longer exists and to contemplate the preservation and appreciation of cultural heritage.

Exhibition team: Hilkka Hiiop, Reeli Kõiv, Frank Lukk, Andres Uueni, Taavi Tiidor, Maris Veeremäe

The exhibition is accompanied by a book under the same title, compiled by the Estonian Academy of Arts Cultural Heritage and Conservation Department and the Estonian Academy of Arts Museum.
The book gives a detailed and abundantly illustrated insight into the dismantling process of the giant fresco by Dolores Hoffmann in all its complexity. It also tells the story of this monumental painting including its historical context, the process of creation, an analysis of the painting, its critical reception, its afterlife etc, as well as the philosophy of conservation and the history of the dismantling of frescos. The book is supplemented by direct quotations from an interview with Dolores Hoffmann.

The texts were written by Hilkka Hiiop, Reeli Kõiv, Andrus Laansalu and Frank Lukk, and edited by Anneli Randla and Maris Veeremäe, designed by Villu Plink. Published in Estonian and in English by Tallinna Raamatutrükikoda, 64 pages.

For more information contact: Hilkka Hiiop – hilkka.hiiop@artun.ee, tel 56 577980

Join us for a performance evening “You’re not alone” on 30th of April, 6 PM at EKA Gallery.
Performances are made during an EKA course “You are not alone” mentored by Henri Hütt and Evelyn Raudsepp.

Artists: Andre Joosep Arming, Helena Lepik, Irmeli Terras, Heleliis Hõim, Ryan Galer, Angela Elizabeth Ramírez Fellowes, Mari-Liis Sõrg, Katrin Enni, Aksel Haagensen, Marianne Siilbaum, Sarah Johnston, Jose Aldemar Muñoz Ñustes

Exhibitions of term projects by students in the Faculty of Fine Arts

Mon-Fri at 3–7 PM

30.04 at 6–8 PM

The first three weeks in May bring an opportunity to experience, in an exhibition format, works produced by students in the Faculty of Fine Arts as their term projects: every day there will be a fresh crop of university students’ works on display in the gallery.

Works in the contemporary art, prints, installation, sculpture and painting curricula will be on display, as are works produced for drawing assessments. The purpose of the assessment marathon is to use the gallery environment as a part of the academic process, a place for exhibiting and experimenting, a possibility for students to see their new works in a professional environment. The public will have a chance to experience the newly created art and outcome of the experiments amidst a spring “finals week” atmosphere. On each morning of the marathon, a new exhibition will be installed and in the evening the exhibit will give way to the next one. Hopefully, viewers will be able to keep up with the pace of the young artists.

30 April ‒ MA in Contemporary Art, “You Are Not Alone”, supervisors Evelyn Raudsepp and Henri Hütt

1 May ‒ BA in Painting, second-year, studio project, supervisors Merike Estna, Kati Ilves, Tõnis Saadoja, Heldur Lassi

2 May ‒ BA in Painting, first-year, model studio, supervisor Merike Estna

3 May ‒ BA in Installation and Sculpture, second-year, supervisor Taavi Piibemann

6 May ‒ BA in Photography, first-year, drawing, supervisor Lilli-Krõõt Repnau

7 May ‒ curriculum: BA in art, first-year, anatomical drawing, supervisor Maiu Rõõmus

8 May ‒ BA in painting, first-year, studio practice, supervisors Mihkel Ilus, Kristi Kongi, Tiina Tammetalu

9 May ‒ curriculum: BA in Art, second-year, conceptual drawing, supervisors Maria-Kristiina Ulas, Tõnis Saadoja

10 May ‒ curriculum: BA in Art, third-year, abstract drawing, supervisor Tõnis Saadoja

13 May ‒ BA in Graphic Art, first-year, supervisors Kadi Kurema, Aarne Mesikäpp, Lilli-Krõõt Repnau

14 May ‒ BA in Graphic Art, second-year, “How to Do Things with Words”, supervisors Eve Kask, Lennart Mänd, Viktor Gurov, Liina Siib

16 May ‒17 May MA in Contemporary Art, first-year, studio project 2, supervisors Liina Siib, Marge Monko, Taavi Talve, John Grzinich, Jaan Toomik, Reimo Võsa-Tangsoo, Margit Säde, Taavi Piibemann, Oliver Laas, Merike Estna

20–21 May ‒ BA in Photography, first-year, black and white lab, supervisor Reio Aare

Join us for the opening on Friday, March 29, at 6 PM, with a special performance by the EKA Choir at 6:15 PM.

We are all born with a knowing pain in our soul, and this innate understanding is loneliness: a deep ache for another to fill the cavity we cannot otherwise fill, sincere desperation that seamlessly moves from the emotional and psychological to the physical.  It is an agonizing progression: painful in the utter dissection of the self with each invitation and rejection, each a beautiful and grounded humiliation where we no longer even recognize ourselves as we wholly long for someone to alleviate the paralyzing fear of dying alone.

When the other, it seems, is and has always been absent, the suffocation of loneliness becomes far more than a feeling – it becomes an insanity of our own making.  We are driven mad by an endless and relentless pursuit for a chosen other with a bittersweet and intoxicating need that is simultaneously exciting and devastating, loving and heartbreaking.  And it is this longing, this intense and unforgiving emotion, that will slowly and decidedly kill us.

Erinn M. Cox is a jewellery artist from the United States, currently residing in Tallinn, Estonia.   She holds a BFA in sculpture and photography from Florida State University, an MFA in sculpture and installation from the Memphis College of Art and is currently pursuing an MA degree in Jewellery at the Estonian Academy of Arts.  Erinn is a published writer on contemporary art and design, an adjunct professor of Fine Arts and Art History, and is the founder and writer for the online journal Louise & Maurice (www.louiseandmaurice.com) 

For more about the artist, visit www.erinnmcox.com

Erinn will give a personal tour of the exhibition on Tuesday, April 16 at 5:30 pm.

Join us for the opening of the exhibition “Phantom Graphics” on March 22nd at 5 PM at EKA Billboard Gallery. The gallery is located outside on the building wall on Kotzebue street.

The exhibition is the result of Mirjam Reili’s workshop with EKA first-year graphic design students. A week-long investigation into vision and perception, where students at EKA explore how images construct ocular illusions, and how these could be presented.

Mirjam Reili is an Estonian graphic designer based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Research combined with drawing and puns often determines the outcome of her self-initiated and commissioned work. Mirjam has graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts and Rietveld Academie Department of Graphic Design and is currently a participant of Werkplaats Typografie, Arnhem.

Participants: Kristi Jaago, Marje Kask, Martin Kipper, Eliisabet Kuslap, Ellen Loitmaa, Ilja Moltšanov, Cristopher Rogotovski, Klara Magdalena Rozpondek, Sonia Ruus, Pavel Salmin, Birgita Siim, Natasha Sotti, Mirjam Varik, Agnes Isabelle Veeno, Ingel-Kristen Veevo, Aaro Veiderpass, Johannes Veike

The exhibition is opened until April 18th.

The opening of the exhibition Weak Monument will take place on February 21st at 8PM. The opening is preceded by Välkloeng at 6PM, moderated by Laura Linsi and Roland Reemaa.

Weak Monument was the Estonian national pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. It was located in the deconsecrated church of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice. The exhibition at the EAA Gallery looks back at the site-specific spatial installation through photographer Hampus Berndtson’s photos and introduces the project through spatial fragments, models and the book Weak Monument: Architectures Beyond the Plinth.

 Weak Monument turns its focus from the traditional culture of monuments to space that is implicitly and concealedly political. Instead of explicit meanings inscribed in marble and bronze, what charges the public might lie elsewhere. How does space represent power? Imagine a spectrum between the triumphal column and revolutionary barricade and extend it – sometimes it is the underlying pavement which is the true representation of collective agency. Weak Monument is an oxymoron – a rhetorical device which can offer fresh perspectives on how to recognise the political in any built form.

In conjunction with the pavilion, the book Weak Monument – Architectures Beyond the Plinth edited by the curators Laura Linsi, Roland Reemaa and Tadeas Riha was published by Park Books (Zürich, 2018). The book includes essays by authors such as Tom Avermaete, Eik Hermann, Klaus Platzgummer and Margrethe Troensegaard, and presents a collection of weak monuments through paintings, personal photos and drawings as well as archive material from Estonian and European museums.

The next exhibition at EKA Gallery is The world’s biggest EKA Gallery-exhibited work by PRIIT, a group of artists from EKA. The exhibition is open only for a week, on February 12–17 and is accessible 24/7.

PRIIT has said about the exhibition: “Space becomes installation and installation becomes space again. A trans-medium and multidimensional work fills the entire space and is in terms of its parameters the biggest work that will ever be shown in that gallery. What do we have to sacrifice to completely subordinate space to ourselves at the exhibition? We experience defiance at the white cube, experience a loss and rediscovery of self in the abstract information field of non-objects.”

PRIIT is a group of artist including Riin Maide, Sidney Lepp, Johannes Luik, Cristo Madissoo, Nele Tiidelepp. Earlier, PRIIT has produced two slightly place-specific and quite experimental exhibitions – Placeless in a Kadriorg rental flat and The Fifth Ice Age before the Third World War in the Tartu culture club Üheteistkümnes.