Category: Photography

07.03.2024 — 31.03.2024

“Gentle Gestures of Self” at EKA Gallery 7.–31.03.2024

GENTLE GESTURES OF SELF
7.–31.03.2024
Opening: 7.03. at 6 pm

Participating artists: Andre Joosep Arming, Annamaari Hyttinen, Cloe Jancis, Maria Izabella Lehtsaar, Taavi Rekkaro, Johanna Saikkonen, Marleen Suvi, Elo Vahtrik
Curator: Kaisa Maasik

The group exhibition “Gentle Gestures of Self” brings together a selection of contemporary self-portraits. The paintings and photographs primarily depict the faces and hands of the artists, pointing at the emotions brought out by their facial expressions and gestures.

Culturally, hands are attributed with a great expressive power: in addition to conveying mood, depicting hands in specific positions can communicate deep feelings and meanings. Anthropologist Ethel J. Alpenfels has said: “Hands point or lead or command; hands cry out in agony or lie quietly sleeping; hands have moods, character, and, in a wider sense, their own particular beauty.”

The exhibition stems from a curatorial perspective focusing on relationships, inner experiences and moods. It approaches hands’ special ability and vulnerability to convey all emotions, even those that people have learned to control in facial expressions.

Opening drinks from Põhjala Brewery.

EKA Gallery
Kotzebue 1, Tallinn
Open Tue–Sun 12–18, free entry

More info:
eka.galerii@artun.ee

Posted by Kaisa Maasik — Permalink

“Gentle Gestures of Self” at EKA Gallery 7.–31.03.2024

Thursday 07 March, 2024 — Sunday 31 March, 2024

GENTLE GESTURES OF SELF
7.–31.03.2024
Opening: 7.03. at 6 pm

Participating artists: Andre Joosep Arming, Annamaari Hyttinen, Cloe Jancis, Maria Izabella Lehtsaar, Taavi Rekkaro, Johanna Saikkonen, Marleen Suvi, Elo Vahtrik
Curator: Kaisa Maasik

The group exhibition “Gentle Gestures of Self” brings together a selection of contemporary self-portraits. The paintings and photographs primarily depict the faces and hands of the artists, pointing at the emotions brought out by their facial expressions and gestures.

Culturally, hands are attributed with a great expressive power: in addition to conveying mood, depicting hands in specific positions can communicate deep feelings and meanings. Anthropologist Ethel J. Alpenfels has said: “Hands point or lead or command; hands cry out in agony or lie quietly sleeping; hands have moods, character, and, in a wider sense, their own particular beauty.”

The exhibition stems from a curatorial perspective focusing on relationships, inner experiences and moods. It approaches hands’ special ability and vulnerability to convey all emotions, even those that people have learned to control in facial expressions.

Opening drinks from Põhjala Brewery.

EKA Gallery
Kotzebue 1, Tallinn
Open Tue–Sun 12–18, free entry

More info:
eka.galerii@artun.ee

Posted by Kaisa Maasik — Permalink

24.01.2024 — 17.02.2024

Melnikova, Keskküla, Monko, Daniliauskaitė at Draakon Gallery

On Wednesday, January 24 at 6 pm we welcome you to the opening of the exhibition Swirling, Twirling, Spinning curated by Merilin Talumaa.

The exhibition includes works by Daria Melnikova, Helena Keskküla, Marge Monko and Viktorija Daniliauskaitė.

The exhibition Swirling, Twirling, Spinning unites artists across generations in an empowering context, drawing inspiration from the ideas of Lithuanian-American archaeologist and anthropologist Marija Gimbutas. Her profound research brought attention to the ancient cultures of the Baltic region and the broader Indo-European world, exploring archaeological artefacts, linguistics, ethnography, and folklore. Gimbutas posited a thesis that prehistoric European culture centered around the worship of a Mother Goddess, as the giver of all life. A spiritual sense of connectedness was artfully expressed through a sophisticated symbol system and an abundance of ritual objects. Nature and body were honored in Europe for tens of thousands of years. Whereas women had an especially strong position in societies across Eastern and Central Europe – a tendency no longer necessarily evident today.

Swirling, Twirling, Spinning poetically weaves a narrative that bridges ancient myths and beliefs, natural cycles, and the transformative power of feminine energy across different cultures and times. Gimbutas, who having opened the treasure trove of prehistory, inspired a belief in a peaceful existence in our time – to bring back to life suppressed vital elements, such as the earth, the body (health), the feminine, and the subconscious. Participating artists, through imaginative and fictitious narratives, share personal stories and cultural myths that also reflect the influence of Gimbutas’ theories on ancient symbolism. Their works echo these concepts through a contemporary lens, incorporating elements such as spirals, circles, and motifs such as snakes and birds – symbols rooted in ancient European matriarchal cultures that continue to resonate in Baltic art and culture.

The exhibition contemplates on reimagining a world centered around goddess worship, with its emphasis on embracing womanhood, preserving nature, and forsaking warfare. Could this theoretical concept transcend into the tangible reality of our future society? Swirling, Twirling, Spinning seamlessly intertwines historical narratives and mythology, immersing us in the themes that Marija Gimbutas ignited: the celebration of life’s cycles, constant renewal, the sanctity of the female body, and the spirituality inherent in these concepts. Gimbutas’ exploration of the spiritual dimensions of a harmonious Old Europe and her vision for a New Europe free from dominance and warfare, feels remarkably pertinent in our contemporary world.

First exhibition around the heritage of Marija Gimbutas took place in L’Atlas Gallery in Paris, France (7 November 2023–3 January 2024). The cycle of exhibitions is foreseen to continue with an upcoming show in La Traverse in Marseille, France (27 August–26 October 2024).

Marija Gimbutas (1921–1994) was a Lithuanian-American archaeologist and anthropologist. She contributed to what is considered to be one of the most significant academic watershed moments in women’s studies with her archaeological and philosophical work on Neolithic culture and religion. Gimbutas is best known for her research into the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of “Old Europe,” a term she introduced. Old Europe referred to both the geographical area and social structures that existed before the Indo-European influence. Gimbutas unequivocally established the existence of a Goddess religion who is the most persistent feature in the archaeological record of the ancient world. The Goddess in all her manifestations was a symbol of the unity of all life in nature. Gimbutas’ discoveries took on great symbolic importance for feminists across various disciplines who found, in her vision of a peaceful, nature-revering society, a sense of hope for the future based on this foundation in the distant past.

Roots to Routes is an initiative created by curators Merilin Talumaa, Maija Rudovska and Justė Kostikovaitė, gathering a community of artists, curators and cultural producers whose trajectories are connected to the Baltic states region. Acting as a nomadic agency, its goal is to support and make visible artistic practices beyond cultural and (geo)political borders. An important part of the collaboration is to create and develop possible joint projects, aiming to build sustainable networks and forms of cooperation between various art scenes.

https://roots2routes.org/

Exhibitions in Draakon gallery are supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Ministry of Culture and Liviko AS.

Daria Melnikova is an artist from Riga, Latvia. Her work results from a meditative study of daily routine, clichés, architectural details and mere casual moments attempting to reconstruct their inner logic as well as to bring to light private experiences that once made them possible and necessary. Melnikova runs a journeying platform called Palette that functions as a bar. Between 2022–2023, Palette used a seasonal venue – a kiosk as a part of the urban environment – an intervention in the garden meadow of the Sporta Pils dārzi in Riga. The project activated a work of art as a meeting point, where the artist meets visitors in non-institutional and informal settings. Melnikova has held solo shows at Gallery Vartai in Vilnius (2020); Karlin Studios in Prague (2019); PLATO in Ostrava (2019); Kulturfolger in Zurich (2018); Kim? in Riga (2017, 2014, 2011); and has participated in group shows at L’Atlas in Paris (2023); KHB in Bratislava (2019); Kiasma in Helsinki (2018); Rupert in Vilnius (2018); Silberkuppe in Berlin (2017); Art in General in New York (2015); Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow (2014). Her works are included in the collection of Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, Finland; Latvian National Museum of Art, Riga; Latvia; Zuzeum Collection in Riga, Latvia; among other public and private collections. https://dariamelnikova.com/
Viktorija Daniliauskaitė is a visual artist born in Yakutsk, Russia. She is living and working in Vilnius, Lithuania. Having graduated from the Lithuanian Art Institute (today, the Vilnius Academy of Arts) in 1974, Daniliauskaitė immediately discarded the art clichés proposed by official art and got immersed in the search for her individual style, discovering the inexhaustible sources of folk art and new art forms. Till today, she is often expressing her artistic visions through linocut. The tradition of linocut is often related with folk engravings and the postwar school of Lithuanian graphic art; however, the artist intuitively realised that this technique contains yet unexplored possibilities of expression. While connecting the heritage of folk art with 20th century modernism and postmodernism, Daniliauskaitė built a bridge between the old tradition and contemporary modern art. She recently participated in a group exhibition in L’Atlas, Paris (2023). She is participating in an upcoming group exhibition in MO Museum, Vilnius (2024). Her works belong to the National Museum of Lithuania, Vilnius; MO Museum, Vilnius; among other public and private collections.
Merilin Talumaa is a curator, art historian and cultural manager who lives and works in Paris and Tallinn. She has graduated from the Department of Art History and Visual Culture at the Estonian Academy of Arts. She is also a graduate of Environmental studies from University of Tartu. Her practice has evolved around research about artists’ studio and work environments and notions of migration and belonging. Her recent on-going projects include Roots to Routes (since 2020) – a curatorial initiative gathering a community of artists, curators and cultural producers. Prior to the book „Your Time Is My Time”, Mousse Publishing, 2023, she compiled and edited the book „Artists’ spaces : 16 studio visits”, Estonian Academy of Arts Press, 2017 (both together with Annika Toots). https://roots2routes.org/
Helena Keskküla is an Estonian artist who lives and works in Amsterdam. Her previous work centres around video, performance and installation. Humor, insecurities and failures play an important role in Keskküla’s work, which she uses to speak about universal issues. She has graduated from the sculpture and installation department of the Estonian Academy of Arts, Gerrit Rietveld’s VAV – moving image department, and Sandberg Institute’s master’s programme in fine arts. During the last three years, Kesküla has focused her practice on mythology and stone carving, while forging connections with performance and modern materials.
Marge Monko is an artist living and working in Tallinn, Estonia. She has studied in Estonian Academy of Arts (MA in Photography, 2008), and in University of Applied Arts in Vienna. In 2013-2015 she participated in a studio program in HISK (Higher Institute for Contemporary Art), Ghent, Belgium. She works as a professor in the Department of Photography at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Marge Monko uses photography, video, and installation. Her works are inspired by historical images and theories of psychoanalysis, feminism, and visual culture. Monko’s works can be found in private and public collections (e.g MUMOK – Museum of Modern Art in Vienna; Folkwang Museum, Essen; Muzeum Sztuki Łódź, Poland; FRAC Lorrain, France; Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland; Estonian Art Museum). In 2012, she was awarded Henkel.Art.Award for Eastern and Central European artists. Monko has been selected for the residencies in ISCP (International Studio & Curatorial Program), New York (2015); KulturKonakt Austria, Vienna (2016), ParaSite, Hong Kong (2017) and Videobrasil, São Paulo (2018). Her recent exhibitions include a.o. Modern Love in Tallinn Art Hall and National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (2021-23), Great Pretender in Kai Art Center (2021), Tallinn; Stones Against Diamonds in Museum Folkwang (2019); Crush in Para Site Hong Kong (2018), RIBOCA Riga International Biennial for Contemporary Art (2018); It Won’t Be Long Now, Comrades! in Framer Framed, Amsterdam (2017). www.margemonko.com
Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink

Melnikova, Keskküla, Monko, Daniliauskaitė at Draakon Gallery

Wednesday 24 January, 2024 — Saturday 17 February, 2024

On Wednesday, January 24 at 6 pm we welcome you to the opening of the exhibition Swirling, Twirling, Spinning curated by Merilin Talumaa.

The exhibition includes works by Daria Melnikova, Helena Keskküla, Marge Monko and Viktorija Daniliauskaitė.

The exhibition Swirling, Twirling, Spinning unites artists across generations in an empowering context, drawing inspiration from the ideas of Lithuanian-American archaeologist and anthropologist Marija Gimbutas. Her profound research brought attention to the ancient cultures of the Baltic region and the broader Indo-European world, exploring archaeological artefacts, linguistics, ethnography, and folklore. Gimbutas posited a thesis that prehistoric European culture centered around the worship of a Mother Goddess, as the giver of all life. A spiritual sense of connectedness was artfully expressed through a sophisticated symbol system and an abundance of ritual objects. Nature and body were honored in Europe for tens of thousands of years. Whereas women had an especially strong position in societies across Eastern and Central Europe – a tendency no longer necessarily evident today.

Swirling, Twirling, Spinning poetically weaves a narrative that bridges ancient myths and beliefs, natural cycles, and the transformative power of feminine energy across different cultures and times. Gimbutas, who having opened the treasure trove of prehistory, inspired a belief in a peaceful existence in our time – to bring back to life suppressed vital elements, such as the earth, the body (health), the feminine, and the subconscious. Participating artists, through imaginative and fictitious narratives, share personal stories and cultural myths that also reflect the influence of Gimbutas’ theories on ancient symbolism. Their works echo these concepts through a contemporary lens, incorporating elements such as spirals, circles, and motifs such as snakes and birds – symbols rooted in ancient European matriarchal cultures that continue to resonate in Baltic art and culture.

The exhibition contemplates on reimagining a world centered around goddess worship, with its emphasis on embracing womanhood, preserving nature, and forsaking warfare. Could this theoretical concept transcend into the tangible reality of our future society? Swirling, Twirling, Spinning seamlessly intertwines historical narratives and mythology, immersing us in the themes that Marija Gimbutas ignited: the celebration of life’s cycles, constant renewal, the sanctity of the female body, and the spirituality inherent in these concepts. Gimbutas’ exploration of the spiritual dimensions of a harmonious Old Europe and her vision for a New Europe free from dominance and warfare, feels remarkably pertinent in our contemporary world.

First exhibition around the heritage of Marija Gimbutas took place in L’Atlas Gallery in Paris, France (7 November 2023–3 January 2024). The cycle of exhibitions is foreseen to continue with an upcoming show in La Traverse in Marseille, France (27 August–26 October 2024).

Marija Gimbutas (1921–1994) was a Lithuanian-American archaeologist and anthropologist. She contributed to what is considered to be one of the most significant academic watershed moments in women’s studies with her archaeological and philosophical work on Neolithic culture and religion. Gimbutas is best known for her research into the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of “Old Europe,” a term she introduced. Old Europe referred to both the geographical area and social structures that existed before the Indo-European influence. Gimbutas unequivocally established the existence of a Goddess religion who is the most persistent feature in the archaeological record of the ancient world. The Goddess in all her manifestations was a symbol of the unity of all life in nature. Gimbutas’ discoveries took on great symbolic importance for feminists across various disciplines who found, in her vision of a peaceful, nature-revering society, a sense of hope for the future based on this foundation in the distant past.

Roots to Routes is an initiative created by curators Merilin Talumaa, Maija Rudovska and Justė Kostikovaitė, gathering a community of artists, curators and cultural producers whose trajectories are connected to the Baltic states region. Acting as a nomadic agency, its goal is to support and make visible artistic practices beyond cultural and (geo)political borders. An important part of the collaboration is to create and develop possible joint projects, aiming to build sustainable networks and forms of cooperation between various art scenes.

https://roots2routes.org/

Exhibitions in Draakon gallery are supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Ministry of Culture and Liviko AS.

Daria Melnikova is an artist from Riga, Latvia. Her work results from a meditative study of daily routine, clichés, architectural details and mere casual moments attempting to reconstruct their inner logic as well as to bring to light private experiences that once made them possible and necessary. Melnikova runs a journeying platform called Palette that functions as a bar. Between 2022–2023, Palette used a seasonal venue – a kiosk as a part of the urban environment – an intervention in the garden meadow of the Sporta Pils dārzi in Riga. The project activated a work of art as a meeting point, where the artist meets visitors in non-institutional and informal settings. Melnikova has held solo shows at Gallery Vartai in Vilnius (2020); Karlin Studios in Prague (2019); PLATO in Ostrava (2019); Kulturfolger in Zurich (2018); Kim? in Riga (2017, 2014, 2011); and has participated in group shows at L’Atlas in Paris (2023); KHB in Bratislava (2019); Kiasma in Helsinki (2018); Rupert in Vilnius (2018); Silberkuppe in Berlin (2017); Art in General in New York (2015); Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow (2014). Her works are included in the collection of Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, Finland; Latvian National Museum of Art, Riga; Latvia; Zuzeum Collection in Riga, Latvia; among other public and private collections. https://dariamelnikova.com/
Viktorija Daniliauskaitė is a visual artist born in Yakutsk, Russia. She is living and working in Vilnius, Lithuania. Having graduated from the Lithuanian Art Institute (today, the Vilnius Academy of Arts) in 1974, Daniliauskaitė immediately discarded the art clichés proposed by official art and got immersed in the search for her individual style, discovering the inexhaustible sources of folk art and new art forms. Till today, she is often expressing her artistic visions through linocut. The tradition of linocut is often related with folk engravings and the postwar school of Lithuanian graphic art; however, the artist intuitively realised that this technique contains yet unexplored possibilities of expression. While connecting the heritage of folk art with 20th century modernism and postmodernism, Daniliauskaitė built a bridge between the old tradition and contemporary modern art. She recently participated in a group exhibition in L’Atlas, Paris (2023). She is participating in an upcoming group exhibition in MO Museum, Vilnius (2024). Her works belong to the National Museum of Lithuania, Vilnius; MO Museum, Vilnius; among other public and private collections.
Merilin Talumaa is a curator, art historian and cultural manager who lives and works in Paris and Tallinn. She has graduated from the Department of Art History and Visual Culture at the Estonian Academy of Arts. She is also a graduate of Environmental studies from University of Tartu. Her practice has evolved around research about artists’ studio and work environments and notions of migration and belonging. Her recent on-going projects include Roots to Routes (since 2020) – a curatorial initiative gathering a community of artists, curators and cultural producers. Prior to the book „Your Time Is My Time”, Mousse Publishing, 2023, she compiled and edited the book „Artists’ spaces : 16 studio visits”, Estonian Academy of Arts Press, 2017 (both together with Annika Toots). https://roots2routes.org/
Helena Keskküla is an Estonian artist who lives and works in Amsterdam. Her previous work centres around video, performance and installation. Humor, insecurities and failures play an important role in Keskküla’s work, which she uses to speak about universal issues. She has graduated from the sculpture and installation department of the Estonian Academy of Arts, Gerrit Rietveld’s VAV – moving image department, and Sandberg Institute’s master’s programme in fine arts. During the last three years, Kesküla has focused her practice on mythology and stone carving, while forging connections with performance and modern materials.
Marge Monko is an artist living and working in Tallinn, Estonia. She has studied in Estonian Academy of Arts (MA in Photography, 2008), and in University of Applied Arts in Vienna. In 2013-2015 she participated in a studio program in HISK (Higher Institute for Contemporary Art), Ghent, Belgium. She works as a professor in the Department of Photography at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Marge Monko uses photography, video, and installation. Her works are inspired by historical images and theories of psychoanalysis, feminism, and visual culture. Monko’s works can be found in private and public collections (e.g MUMOK – Museum of Modern Art in Vienna; Folkwang Museum, Essen; Muzeum Sztuki Łódź, Poland; FRAC Lorrain, France; Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland; Estonian Art Museum). In 2012, she was awarded Henkel.Art.Award for Eastern and Central European artists. Monko has been selected for the residencies in ISCP (International Studio & Curatorial Program), New York (2015); KulturKonakt Austria, Vienna (2016), ParaSite, Hong Kong (2017) and Videobrasil, São Paulo (2018). Her recent exhibitions include a.o. Modern Love in Tallinn Art Hall and National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (2021-23), Great Pretender in Kai Art Center (2021), Tallinn; Stones Against Diamonds in Museum Folkwang (2019); Crush in Para Site Hong Kong (2018), RIBOCA Riga International Biennial for Contemporary Art (2018); It Won’t Be Long Now, Comrades! in Framer Framed, Amsterdam (2017). www.margemonko.com
Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink

08.12.2023 — 25.02.2024

Hanna Samoson at Art Hall Laasnamäe Pavilion

You are kindly invited to the opening of Hanna Samoson’s debut exhibition today, 8 December at 6 pm in Tallinn Art Hall’s Lasnamäe Pavilion. 

Magic is sometimes very close to nothing at all is an exhibition about a great flood inside a person caused by a great loss and coming to terms with it, letting go of the previous world order and building a new world from the ruins of the past life. The curator of the exhibition is Siim Preiman.

How to attain a feather-light existence and shed all excess? Hanna Samoson dedicated the past year to pondering this quest. Through her contemplations, a series of patterns emerged from her experiences, aligning like puzzle pieces with the symbols she encountered. Within the confines of the Lasnamäe Pavilion, visitors are invited to traverse a path crafted by videos, stone sculptures, and installations. This journey captivates, involving us in its narrative, yet maintaining an openness that mirrors the artist’s profound realization — that every ending is always the beginning of something new.

Fueled by grief, Samoson unlocks the door to understanding profound human experiences. Curator Siim Preiman emphasizes the impossibility of encapsulating another person’s journey in words, stating, “Hanna Samoson is not a suffering artist, but a curious, empathetic and caring person. After her loss she set her sights on reconciliation, deciding to give up everything superfluous and strive for a state where nothing is redundant, but nothing is lacking, either. On her journey Hanna encounters various people and animals, experiences powerful natural phenomena and other seemingly small but magical coincidences.”

Hanna Samoson (1987) explores the boundaries of art and tries to perceive the unknown. Being in constant motion as an intuitive creator, her work is characterised by quick and spontaneous decisions. She studied photography at the Estonian Academy of Arts and graduated from the FAMU Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in 2021. In the autumn of 2020 she walked the future route of Rail Baltic from Ikla to Tallinn as an endurance art performance, as a result of which the film Trail Baltic: A Trip to the Green (2023) was produced in cooperation with Levila. Among her latest shows are group exhibitions Pine-fulness at Tallinn City Gallery (2021) and Vana-Võromaa Cultural Centre (2022) and Runner Along the Border, Rat Catcher and Bricklayerat the Art Hall Gallery (2022).

The collaboration for the exhibition involved the support of spiritual guide Klara Hobza, along with artists and companions Helena Keskküla and Johanna Ranne, composer Janek Murd, sound designer Martin Kikas and project manager Hanna-Antheia Stern. The exhibition was designed by Kairi Mändla.

The exhibition is accompanied by a versatile audience and educational programme, information about which will be announced on Tallinn Art Hall’s website at https://www.kunstihoone.ee/programm/

The exhibition will remain open until 25 February 2024.

Tallinn Art Hall’s Lasnamäe Pavilion is located next to the Lindakivi Centre at 24 Jaan Koorti Street and is open from Wednesday to Friday from 12 to 18 and Saturday to Sunday from 12 to 19. Free entrance.

Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink

Hanna Samoson at Art Hall Laasnamäe Pavilion

Friday 08 December, 2023 — Sunday 25 February, 2024

You are kindly invited to the opening of Hanna Samoson’s debut exhibition today, 8 December at 6 pm in Tallinn Art Hall’s Lasnamäe Pavilion. 

Magic is sometimes very close to nothing at all is an exhibition about a great flood inside a person caused by a great loss and coming to terms with it, letting go of the previous world order and building a new world from the ruins of the past life. The curator of the exhibition is Siim Preiman.

How to attain a feather-light existence and shed all excess? Hanna Samoson dedicated the past year to pondering this quest. Through her contemplations, a series of patterns emerged from her experiences, aligning like puzzle pieces with the symbols she encountered. Within the confines of the Lasnamäe Pavilion, visitors are invited to traverse a path crafted by videos, stone sculptures, and installations. This journey captivates, involving us in its narrative, yet maintaining an openness that mirrors the artist’s profound realization — that every ending is always the beginning of something new.

Fueled by grief, Samoson unlocks the door to understanding profound human experiences. Curator Siim Preiman emphasizes the impossibility of encapsulating another person’s journey in words, stating, “Hanna Samoson is not a suffering artist, but a curious, empathetic and caring person. After her loss she set her sights on reconciliation, deciding to give up everything superfluous and strive for a state where nothing is redundant, but nothing is lacking, either. On her journey Hanna encounters various people and animals, experiences powerful natural phenomena and other seemingly small but magical coincidences.”

Hanna Samoson (1987) explores the boundaries of art and tries to perceive the unknown. Being in constant motion as an intuitive creator, her work is characterised by quick and spontaneous decisions. She studied photography at the Estonian Academy of Arts and graduated from the FAMU Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in 2021. In the autumn of 2020 she walked the future route of Rail Baltic from Ikla to Tallinn as an endurance art performance, as a result of which the film Trail Baltic: A Trip to the Green (2023) was produced in cooperation with Levila. Among her latest shows are group exhibitions Pine-fulness at Tallinn City Gallery (2021) and Vana-Võromaa Cultural Centre (2022) and Runner Along the Border, Rat Catcher and Bricklayerat the Art Hall Gallery (2022).

The collaboration for the exhibition involved the support of spiritual guide Klara Hobza, along with artists and companions Helena Keskküla and Johanna Ranne, composer Janek Murd, sound designer Martin Kikas and project manager Hanna-Antheia Stern. The exhibition was designed by Kairi Mändla.

The exhibition is accompanied by a versatile audience and educational programme, information about which will be announced on Tallinn Art Hall’s website at https://www.kunstihoone.ee/programm/

The exhibition will remain open until 25 February 2024.

Tallinn Art Hall’s Lasnamäe Pavilion is located next to the Lindakivi Centre at 24 Jaan Koorti Street and is open from Wednesday to Friday from 12 to 18 and Saturday to Sunday from 12 to 19. Free entrance.

Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink

23.11.2023

Presentation of Paul Kuimet’s book “Crystal Grid”

“How to give structure to something that itself is lacking one? How to present something like that? This is a question of visibility and making visible. What are the means for making visible something that always remains invisible? More precisely: the thing that remains invisible in real life, but of which we can get a glimpse in Crystal Grid, is the structure of capitalism. But how to display something like that?”

Neeme Lopp Paul Kuimet’s Analytical Photography
Essay from artist’s book Crystal Grid (Lugemik, 2023)

The exhibition features 25 new works from the Crystal Grid series. The series, commenced in 2020, consists of collages composed of photos taken in palm houses of various botanical gardens around the world. The collages are arranged in sets of two, three or four, juxtaposing plant fragments, which in reality are located hundreds or even thousands of kilometers apart.

For the collages, a pattern is used, derived from the structure of the ceiling of the central transept of the Crystal Palace, erected for the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. For each work, a new pattern is designed within the existing framework, based on the internal composition of each photo – part of the image is cut according to the pattern, and part is left uncut.

 

Public programme:

23.11, Draakoni Gallery and Kanuti Gildi SAAL

18.00 Guided tour with the artist (in English) and book launch (in Estonian)

Please join us for the launch of Crystal Grid – a new artists’ book by Paul Kuimet – on Thursday, November 23 at 6 pm. The event will begin at Draakoni Gallery with a guided tour by the artist. The tour will be held in English. After the tour the book launch will take place at Kanuti Gildi SAAL. At the launch the artist will be in conversation with the art critic Hanno Soans. Discussion is held in Estonian. During the launch the publication will be sold at a special price of 20 euros. On the evening of the launch Paul Kuimet’s exhibition at Draakoni Gallery will be open until 8 pm.

Paul Kuimet’s new book presents two series by the artist – “Crystal Grid” (2020–2023) and an ensuing series of assemblages “What It Is to Be What You Are Not” (2022).

The works are connected by a set of geometric shapes from a grid that is based on the roof structure of the central transept of the Crystal Palace, erected for the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. While the photographic material of the “Crystal Grid” collages has been photographed in different botanical gardens around the world, the assemblages of the “What It Is to Be What You Are Not” series use images exposed to light-sensitive paper in the darkness of a photo lab together with leaves collected in the Tallinn Botanic Garden. Juxtaposed, the works raise different questions about the notions of place, form and representation in photography.

The book includes an essay by Neeme Lopp and was designed by Indrek Sirkel. The book is published by Lugemik and supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Paul Kuimet (1984) is an artist who works with photography, 16 mm film, and installation comprising of these media. Although his work is often described by a technological way of seeing, his practice places emphasis on the movement and presence of the beholder in the exhibition space. Since 2013, his work has been interested in modernist forms. In his latest works he has concentrated not so much on the forms of modernism, but on its materials, such as steel and glass, and their relationship to the development of modern capitalism since the mid-nineteenth century. He received an MA degree from the Estonian Academy of Arts (2014). In 2018, he participated in residency programmes at WIELS Contemporary Art Centre, Brussels, and at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York City. Since 2022, Kuimet is the Associate Professor at the Estonian Academy of Arts, Department of Photography.

Draakoni Gallery (Pikk 18, Tallinn)
Open: Mon–Fri 11.00–18.00, Sat 11.00–17.00
Opening 1.11.2023 at 18.00
Free entrance
Limited wheelchair accessibility

Exhibition “Crystal Grid”

Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink

Presentation of Paul Kuimet’s book “Crystal Grid”

Thursday 23 November, 2023

“How to give structure to something that itself is lacking one? How to present something like that? This is a question of visibility and making visible. What are the means for making visible something that always remains invisible? More precisely: the thing that remains invisible in real life, but of which we can get a glimpse in Crystal Grid, is the structure of capitalism. But how to display something like that?”

Neeme Lopp Paul Kuimet’s Analytical Photography
Essay from artist’s book Crystal Grid (Lugemik, 2023)

The exhibition features 25 new works from the Crystal Grid series. The series, commenced in 2020, consists of collages composed of photos taken in palm houses of various botanical gardens around the world. The collages are arranged in sets of two, three or four, juxtaposing plant fragments, which in reality are located hundreds or even thousands of kilometers apart.

For the collages, a pattern is used, derived from the structure of the ceiling of the central transept of the Crystal Palace, erected for the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. For each work, a new pattern is designed within the existing framework, based on the internal composition of each photo – part of the image is cut according to the pattern, and part is left uncut.

 

Public programme:

23.11, Draakoni Gallery and Kanuti Gildi SAAL

18.00 Guided tour with the artist (in English) and book launch (in Estonian)

Please join us for the launch of Crystal Grid – a new artists’ book by Paul Kuimet – on Thursday, November 23 at 6 pm. The event will begin at Draakoni Gallery with a guided tour by the artist. The tour will be held in English. After the tour the book launch will take place at Kanuti Gildi SAAL. At the launch the artist will be in conversation with the art critic Hanno Soans. Discussion is held in Estonian. During the launch the publication will be sold at a special price of 20 euros. On the evening of the launch Paul Kuimet’s exhibition at Draakoni Gallery will be open until 8 pm.

Paul Kuimet’s new book presents two series by the artist – “Crystal Grid” (2020–2023) and an ensuing series of assemblages “What It Is to Be What You Are Not” (2022).

The works are connected by a set of geometric shapes from a grid that is based on the roof structure of the central transept of the Crystal Palace, erected for the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. While the photographic material of the “Crystal Grid” collages has been photographed in different botanical gardens around the world, the assemblages of the “What It Is to Be What You Are Not” series use images exposed to light-sensitive paper in the darkness of a photo lab together with leaves collected in the Tallinn Botanic Garden. Juxtaposed, the works raise different questions about the notions of place, form and representation in photography.

The book includes an essay by Neeme Lopp and was designed by Indrek Sirkel. The book is published by Lugemik and supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Paul Kuimet (1984) is an artist who works with photography, 16 mm film, and installation comprising of these media. Although his work is often described by a technological way of seeing, his practice places emphasis on the movement and presence of the beholder in the exhibition space. Since 2013, his work has been interested in modernist forms. In his latest works he has concentrated not so much on the forms of modernism, but on its materials, such as steel and glass, and their relationship to the development of modern capitalism since the mid-nineteenth century. He received an MA degree from the Estonian Academy of Arts (2014). In 2018, he participated in residency programmes at WIELS Contemporary Art Centre, Brussels, and at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York City. Since 2022, Kuimet is the Associate Professor at the Estonian Academy of Arts, Department of Photography.

Draakoni Gallery (Pikk 18, Tallinn)
Open: Mon–Fri 11.00–18.00, Sat 11.00–17.00
Opening 1.11.2023 at 18.00
Free entrance
Limited wheelchair accessibility

Exhibition “Crystal Grid”

Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink

01.12.2023 — 20.12.2023

Assessment Marathon at EKA Gallery 01.–20.12.2023

Foto: Mia Tohver

Open Mon-Sat at 15.00-18.00

December brings 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 contemporary art, prints, installation, sculpture and painting curricula will be on display. 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.

SCHEDULE

01—02.12 Scenography, supervisor Mark Raidpere

04.12 Photography, supervisor Paul Kuimet

05.12 Drawing, supervisor Eero Alev

06.12 Painting, supervisors Tõnis Saadoja, Karl-Kristjan Nagel

07.12 Painting, supervisors Tõnis Saadoja, Anna Škodenko

08.12 Sculpture, supervisor Taavi Talve, Laura Põld

09.12 Drawing, supervisor Britta Benno

11.12 Graphic Art, supervisors Charlotte Biszewski, Heta Jäälinoja, Viktor Gurov, Katrin Kaev, Caroline Pajusaar, Liina Siib, Taavi Suisalu

12.12 Graphic Art, supervisors Kadi Kurema, Mark Antonius Puhkan, Charlotte Biszewski, Maria Izabella Lehtsaar, Eve Kaaret

13.12 Scenography, supervisor Tomo Stanič

14—15.12 Contemporary Art, supervisors Charlotte Emma Biszewski, Paul Kuimet, Camille Antoine Laurelli, Holger Loodus, Laura Põld, David Ross, Taavi Talve, Jaan Toomik, Anu Vahtra, Reimo Võsa-Tangsoo

16.12 Painting, supervisors Sirja-Liisa Eelma, Vladimir Dubossarsky, Mart Vainre

18—19.12 Contemporary Art, supervisors Charlotte Emma Biszewski, Sirja-Liisa Eelma, Maris Karjatse, Camille Antoine Laurelli, Laura Põld, David Ross, Sten Saarits, Liina Siib, Taavi Talve, Jaan Toomik, Anu Vahtra

20.12 Photography, supervisor Anna Mari Liivrand

 

Posted by Pire Sova — Permalink

Assessment Marathon at EKA Gallery 01.–20.12.2023

Friday 01 December, 2023 — Wednesday 20 December, 2023

Foto: Mia Tohver

Open Mon-Sat at 15.00-18.00

December brings 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 contemporary art, prints, installation, sculpture and painting curricula will be on display. 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.

SCHEDULE

01—02.12 Scenography, supervisor Mark Raidpere

04.12 Photography, supervisor Paul Kuimet

05.12 Drawing, supervisor Eero Alev

06.12 Painting, supervisors Tõnis Saadoja, Karl-Kristjan Nagel

07.12 Painting, supervisors Tõnis Saadoja, Anna Škodenko

08.12 Sculpture, supervisor Taavi Talve, Laura Põld

09.12 Drawing, supervisor Britta Benno

11.12 Graphic Art, supervisors Charlotte Biszewski, Heta Jäälinoja, Viktor Gurov, Katrin Kaev, Caroline Pajusaar, Liina Siib, Taavi Suisalu

12.12 Graphic Art, supervisors Kadi Kurema, Mark Antonius Puhkan, Charlotte Biszewski, Maria Izabella Lehtsaar, Eve Kaaret

13.12 Scenography, supervisor Tomo Stanič

14—15.12 Contemporary Art, supervisors Charlotte Emma Biszewski, Paul Kuimet, Camille Antoine Laurelli, Holger Loodus, Laura Põld, David Ross, Taavi Talve, Jaan Toomik, Anu Vahtra, Reimo Võsa-Tangsoo

16.12 Painting, supervisors Sirja-Liisa Eelma, Vladimir Dubossarsky, Mart Vainre

18—19.12 Contemporary Art, supervisors Charlotte Emma Biszewski, Sirja-Liisa Eelma, Maris Karjatse, Camille Antoine Laurelli, Laura Põld, David Ross, Sten Saarits, Liina Siib, Taavi Talve, Jaan Toomik, Anu Vahtra

20.12 Photography, supervisor Anna Mari Liivrand

 

Posted by Pire Sova — Permalink

31.10.2023 — 25.11.2023

Paul Kuimet: “Crystal Grid” at Draakon Gallery

October 31, 2023 Paul Kuimet’s solo exhibition Crystal Grid will be open in Draakon gallery.

The opening event takes place on November 1 at 18:00.
The project-related artist’s book presentation will take place on November 23 at 18:00 adjacent to the gallery in Kanuti Gildi SAAL.

“… How to give structure to something that itself is lacking one? How to present something like that? This is a question of visibility and making visible. What are the means for making visible something that always remains invisible? More precisely: the thing that remains invisible in real life, but of which we can get a glimpse in Crystal Grid, is the structure of capitalism. But how to display something like that?”

Neeme Lopp Paul Kuimet’s Analytical Photography
Essay from artist’s book Crystal Grid (Lugemik, 2023)

The exhibition features 25 new works from the Crystal Grid series. The series, commenced in 2020, consists of collages composed of photos taken in palm houses of various botanical gardens around the world. The collages are arranged in sets of two, three or four, juxtaposing plant fragments, which in reality are located hundreds or even thousands of kilometers apart.

For the collages, a pattern is used, derived from the structure of the ceiling of the central transept of the Crystal Palace, erected for the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. For each work, a new pattern is designed within the existing framework, based on the internal composition of each photo – part of the image is cut according to the pattern, and part is left uncut.

Paul Kuimet (1984) is an artist who works with photography, 16 mm film, and installation comprising of these media. Although his work is often described by a technological way of seeing, his practice places emphasis on the movement and presence of the beholder in the exhibition space. Since 2013, his work has been interested in modernist forms. In his latest works he has concentrated not so much on the forms of modernism, but on its materials, such as steel and glass, and their relationship to the development of modern capitalism since the mid-nineteenth century. He received an MA degree from the Estonian Academy of Arts (2014). In 2018, he participated in residency programmes at WIELS Contemporary Art Centre, Brussels, and at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York City. Since 2022, Kuimet is the Associate Professor at the Estonian Academy of Arts, Department of Photography.

The exhibition will remain open until November 25, 2023.

The exhibition is a part of the satellite programme of the contemporary art biennial Tallinn Photomonth (6.10.–26.11.2023). More info: fotokuu.ee

Supported by: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Academy of Arts, Põhjala Brewery
Exhibitions in Draakon gallery are supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Ministry of Culture and AS Liviko.

Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink

Paul Kuimet: “Crystal Grid” at Draakon Gallery

Tuesday 31 October, 2023 — Saturday 25 November, 2023

October 31, 2023 Paul Kuimet’s solo exhibition Crystal Grid will be open in Draakon gallery.

The opening event takes place on November 1 at 18:00.
The project-related artist’s book presentation will take place on November 23 at 18:00 adjacent to the gallery in Kanuti Gildi SAAL.

“… How to give structure to something that itself is lacking one? How to present something like that? This is a question of visibility and making visible. What are the means for making visible something that always remains invisible? More precisely: the thing that remains invisible in real life, but of which we can get a glimpse in Crystal Grid, is the structure of capitalism. But how to display something like that?”

Neeme Lopp Paul Kuimet’s Analytical Photography
Essay from artist’s book Crystal Grid (Lugemik, 2023)

The exhibition features 25 new works from the Crystal Grid series. The series, commenced in 2020, consists of collages composed of photos taken in palm houses of various botanical gardens around the world. The collages are arranged in sets of two, three or four, juxtaposing plant fragments, which in reality are located hundreds or even thousands of kilometers apart.

For the collages, a pattern is used, derived from the structure of the ceiling of the central transept of the Crystal Palace, erected for the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. For each work, a new pattern is designed within the existing framework, based on the internal composition of each photo – part of the image is cut according to the pattern, and part is left uncut.

Paul Kuimet (1984) is an artist who works with photography, 16 mm film, and installation comprising of these media. Although his work is often described by a technological way of seeing, his practice places emphasis on the movement and presence of the beholder in the exhibition space. Since 2013, his work has been interested in modernist forms. In his latest works he has concentrated not so much on the forms of modernism, but on its materials, such as steel and glass, and their relationship to the development of modern capitalism since the mid-nineteenth century. He received an MA degree from the Estonian Academy of Arts (2014). In 2018, he participated in residency programmes at WIELS Contemporary Art Centre, Brussels, and at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York City. Since 2022, Kuimet is the Associate Professor at the Estonian Academy of Arts, Department of Photography.

The exhibition will remain open until November 25, 2023.

The exhibition is a part of the satellite programme of the contemporary art biennial Tallinn Photomonth (6.10.–26.11.2023). More info: fotokuu.ee

Supported by: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Academy of Arts, Põhjala Brewery
Exhibitions in Draakon gallery are supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian Ministry of Culture and AS Liviko.

Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink

24.10.2023

Artist Talks: Peter Fraser, Esther Hovers

Photography artists Peter Fraser and Esther Hovers will hold their artist talks at 18:00 on Tuesday, October in A-501 at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Both artists are in Tallinn to hold a week-long masterclasses in the department of photography, Estonian Academy of Arts.

Peter Fraser is a fine art photographer who has been at the forefront of colour photography as artistic enquiry since the early 1980s. His works involve an intense philosophical focus on the matter and materials encountered in the everyday, frequently addressing the question ‘What is Real?’ in conjunction with changing societal preoccupations.

Born in 1953 in Cardiff, Wales, Fraser graduated in photography from Manchester Polytechnic in 1976. He began working with a Plaubel Makina camera in 1982, which led to an exhibition with William Eggleston at the Arnolfini in Bristol in 1984. Fraser went on to travel to the USA in the same year, spending nearly two months with William Eggleston. It was during this time that he decided to commit his life’s energies to exploring the expressive possibilities of colour photography.

Fraser was shortlisted for the International Citibank Photography Prize in 2004, and in 2014 awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal Photographic Society. He has exhibited internationally for nearly 40 years, with notable solo exhibitions held at the Photographers’ Gallery, London in 2002, PhotoEspana 2017, Camden Art Centre 2018, and Tate St Ives, which was the first Tate Retrospective for a living British Photographer in 2013 accompanied by a major Tate Monograph.

Recent major exhibitions include Mathematics, Photo Espana, Madrid 2017, and at Camden Arts Centre, London in 2018. In 2021 he received a Pollock Krasner Foundation Award to make new work across Europe in a time of increasing anxiety and apprehension for the future, and has been photographing in Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Crete and Estonia for this series. He has had 12 books of his work published since 1988, referenced on his website. His works are held in many public collections including the Arts Council of England, Tate, London, the British Council, Fondation A Stichting, Bruxelles, Mast Foundation, Bologna, Yale Centre for British Art, USA and Private Collections worldwide.

https://www.peterfraser.net
INSTAGRAM peter_fraser9

Esther Hovers investigates how power, politics and control and exercised through urban planning and the use of public space in her artistic practice. She was trained as a photographer but creates installations in which photographs, drawings, text and film play an equal part.

Esther Hovers has exhibited at Aperture Foundation in New York City; Lianzhou Photo Festival in China; and Foam Photography Museum of Amsterdam, et al. Her work has been published in The New York Times; The Washington Post; M – Le Magazine du Monde and Wired, among other publications.

In 2019 Hovers was an artist-in-residence at NARS Foundation (The New York Art Residency and Studios) in Brooklyn, New York. She is currently based in the Netherlands.

https://estherhovers.com
INSTAGRAM estherhovers

Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink

Artist Talks: Peter Fraser, Esther Hovers

Tuesday 24 October, 2023

Photography artists Peter Fraser and Esther Hovers will hold their artist talks at 18:00 on Tuesday, October in A-501 at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Both artists are in Tallinn to hold a week-long masterclasses in the department of photography, Estonian Academy of Arts.

Peter Fraser is a fine art photographer who has been at the forefront of colour photography as artistic enquiry since the early 1980s. His works involve an intense philosophical focus on the matter and materials encountered in the everyday, frequently addressing the question ‘What is Real?’ in conjunction with changing societal preoccupations.

Born in 1953 in Cardiff, Wales, Fraser graduated in photography from Manchester Polytechnic in 1976. He began working with a Plaubel Makina camera in 1982, which led to an exhibition with William Eggleston at the Arnolfini in Bristol in 1984. Fraser went on to travel to the USA in the same year, spending nearly two months with William Eggleston. It was during this time that he decided to commit his life’s energies to exploring the expressive possibilities of colour photography.

Fraser was shortlisted for the International Citibank Photography Prize in 2004, and in 2014 awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal Photographic Society. He has exhibited internationally for nearly 40 years, with notable solo exhibitions held at the Photographers’ Gallery, London in 2002, PhotoEspana 2017, Camden Art Centre 2018, and Tate St Ives, which was the first Tate Retrospective for a living British Photographer in 2013 accompanied by a major Tate Monograph.

Recent major exhibitions include Mathematics, Photo Espana, Madrid 2017, and at Camden Arts Centre, London in 2018. In 2021 he received a Pollock Krasner Foundation Award to make new work across Europe in a time of increasing anxiety and apprehension for the future, and has been photographing in Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Crete and Estonia for this series. He has had 12 books of his work published since 1988, referenced on his website. His works are held in many public collections including the Arts Council of England, Tate, London, the British Council, Fondation A Stichting, Bruxelles, Mast Foundation, Bologna, Yale Centre for British Art, USA and Private Collections worldwide.

https://www.peterfraser.net
INSTAGRAM peter_fraser9

Esther Hovers investigates how power, politics and control and exercised through urban planning and the use of public space in her artistic practice. She was trained as a photographer but creates installations in which photographs, drawings, text and film play an equal part.

Esther Hovers has exhibited at Aperture Foundation in New York City; Lianzhou Photo Festival in China; and Foam Photography Museum of Amsterdam, et al. Her work has been published in The New York Times; The Washington Post; M – Le Magazine du Monde and Wired, among other publications.

In 2019 Hovers was an artist-in-residence at NARS Foundation (The New York Art Residency and Studios) in Brooklyn, New York. She is currently based in the Netherlands.

https://estherhovers.com
INSTAGRAM estherhovers

Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink

10.10.2023

Artist Talk: Roger Ballen

Born in the USA, Roger Ballen has worked in Johannesburg and its surroundings since the 1970s. Initially, he documented marginalised white South Africans in remote regions near the end of the Apartheid era, conveying their state of mind through stark black and white photography. However, from 1995, Ballen’s aesthetic began to transcend the boundaries of traditional photography. In his unique multimedia ‘Ballenesque’ style, people, figures, and animals inhabit meticulously crafted stage sets adorned with primal, child-like drawings that can be likened to the “Theatre of the Absurd.” This signature style—haunting and beguiling—has captured the imagination of viewers around the world.

After developing an idiosyncratic style which is referred to as “Ballenesque”, Roger Ballen became one of the most prominent artist/photographers of his generation. He achieved international recognition through his unique and powerful use of drawing, painting, and collage alongside various sculptural techniques in elaborate installations, inventing a new, hybrid aesthetics, firmly rooted in the art of photography. From 1995, Ballen’s work evolved into a provocative fusion of reality and imagination. Well-known publications, including “Outland”, “Boarding House”, “Asylum of the Birds”, and “The Theatre of Apparitions”, transcend the confines of traditional documentary photography and incorporate painting, drawing, sculpture and film. His distinctive ‘Ballenesque’ style features ‘outsiders’, animals, found objects, wires, and childlike marks that cultivate a surreal Theatre of the Absurd.

Ballen’s work has been the subject of exhibitions at prestigious institutions for more than thirty years now. His decision to exhibit at the Halle Saint Pierre in Paris on 2019, a museum devoted to art brut and outsider art, is a special event which demonstrates his freedom from artistic genres. Since the exhibition has been successfully exhibited at Jakopic Gallery in Ljubljana, Slovenia; as well as the Kunstmuseum Den Haag, The Hague.

The exhibition “The World according to Roger Ballen” is an unprecedented overview of the artist which presents, along with 90 photographs, drawings, paintings and unseen installations that Roger Ballen has exclusively created for this event.

Wollen opens his personal exhibition “The World According to Roger Ballen” in Fotografiska Tallinn on October 13th – it is a retrospective exhibition that transforms visitors into participants in a living tableau—a gesamtkunstwerk of installations, videos, drawings, and photographic mastery.

Tickets for the opening: https://fienta.com/et/roger-balleni-naituse-avamine

Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink

Artist Talk: Roger Ballen

Tuesday 10 October, 2023

Born in the USA, Roger Ballen has worked in Johannesburg and its surroundings since the 1970s. Initially, he documented marginalised white South Africans in remote regions near the end of the Apartheid era, conveying their state of mind through stark black and white photography. However, from 1995, Ballen’s aesthetic began to transcend the boundaries of traditional photography. In his unique multimedia ‘Ballenesque’ style, people, figures, and animals inhabit meticulously crafted stage sets adorned with primal, child-like drawings that can be likened to the “Theatre of the Absurd.” This signature style—haunting and beguiling—has captured the imagination of viewers around the world.

After developing an idiosyncratic style which is referred to as “Ballenesque”, Roger Ballen became one of the most prominent artist/photographers of his generation. He achieved international recognition through his unique and powerful use of drawing, painting, and collage alongside various sculptural techniques in elaborate installations, inventing a new, hybrid aesthetics, firmly rooted in the art of photography. From 1995, Ballen’s work evolved into a provocative fusion of reality and imagination. Well-known publications, including “Outland”, “Boarding House”, “Asylum of the Birds”, and “The Theatre of Apparitions”, transcend the confines of traditional documentary photography and incorporate painting, drawing, sculpture and film. His distinctive ‘Ballenesque’ style features ‘outsiders’, animals, found objects, wires, and childlike marks that cultivate a surreal Theatre of the Absurd.

Ballen’s work has been the subject of exhibitions at prestigious institutions for more than thirty years now. His decision to exhibit at the Halle Saint Pierre in Paris on 2019, a museum devoted to art brut and outsider art, is a special event which demonstrates his freedom from artistic genres. Since the exhibition has been successfully exhibited at Jakopic Gallery in Ljubljana, Slovenia; as well as the Kunstmuseum Den Haag, The Hague.

The exhibition “The World according to Roger Ballen” is an unprecedented overview of the artist which presents, along with 90 photographs, drawings, paintings and unseen installations that Roger Ballen has exclusively created for this event.

Wollen opens his personal exhibition “The World According to Roger Ballen” in Fotografiska Tallinn on October 13th – it is a retrospective exhibition that transforms visitors into participants in a living tableau—a gesamtkunstwerk of installations, videos, drawings, and photographic mastery.

Tickets for the opening: https://fienta.com/et/roger-balleni-naituse-avamine

Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink

06.10.2023 — 26.11.2023

Trance – the Main Exhibition of Tallinn Photomonth

On 6 October at 6 pm, Trance, the main exhibition of Tallinn Photomonth’s seventh edition, will open at Tallinn Art Hall’s Lasnamäe Pavilion.

It explores people’s everyday addiction to screens and includes works by 17 artists from eight countries, as well as three artist duos and one artist group. Several artists will present their works in Estonia for the first time. Curated by New York based, Finnish curator, Ilari Laamanen, the exhibition will remain open until 26 November.

“Trance looks into the charm and allure of being engaged with technology on the one hand, and the darker side of these rapid developments on the other. The presence of these objects is so mundane and pervasive, even to the point that not having one could give an individual the feeling of isolation from the social context altogether,” says Ilari Laamanen, curator of the exhibition. The exhibition focuses on technological trance as people’s dependence on screens, and it examines how the transition from photographic images to interactive screens, as well the intimately intertwined relationship between the two, marks one of the most significant and destabilising changes in the way in which humans perceive reality, but also how contemporary art can be a fertile ground for making sense of the relationship between technology and the human experience.

According to Laamanen, an art exhibition offers an environment where alternative ways of communicating and transmitting information can be used: “The artists in the exhibition utilise glitch as a conceptual tool, which offers the viewer an opportunity to take a break, step back from the technological trance, and contemplate on the meanings and significance of art and images.” The presented artworks invite viewers to perceive and analyse various means of (audio)visual presentation and to review their own relationship with watching.

The artists participating in the main exhibition are Sara Bjarland (FI/NL), Zody Burke (US/EE), Patricia Domínguez (CL), Elo-Reet Järv (EE), Karel Koplimets (EE), Diane Severin Nguyen (US), Veli Granö (FI), Laila Majid (AE/UK) and Louis Blue Newby (UK), Norman Orro and Joonas Timmi (EE), Pire Sova and Ando Naulainen (EE), Viktor Timofeev (LV/US), Anu Vahtra (EE), Jessica Wilson (US) and artist group CUSS Group (ZA).

According to Laamanen, Trance has an interdisciplinary and cross-generational focus, and each artist’s work has an unexpected impact at the exhibition: “The process of curatorial work has been strongly influenced by the unusual architecture of Tallinn Art Hall’s Lasnamäe Pavilion. The presented works are in dialogue with the exhibition space, which makes the exhibition an engaging and multi-sensory experience. Estonia-based artists Zody Burke, Karel Koplimets, Anu Vahtra, Pire Sova and Ando Naulainen will create new installations specially for Photo Month. I am very pleased to introduce the works of international artists Patricia Domínguez, Laila Majid and Louis Blue Newby, and the CUSS Group for the first time in Tallinn.”

The exhibition is accompanied by a rich public and educational programme, you can find further information on the Tallinn Art Hall website: https://www.kunstihoone.ee/en/programme/.

Running from 6 October to 26 November the Tallinn Photo Month ’23 main programme, includes international group exhibition Trance at Tallinn Art Hall’s Lasnamäe Pavilion and Artist Film screenings at Sõprus Cinema in collaboration with the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (16 and 17 November; curators Piibe Kolka and Genevieve Yue). The biennial’s Satellite programme includes a continued collaboration with several important partners and exhibition spaces focused on photo-led art in Tallinn. In cooperation with Tallinn City Transport, an urban space installation will be presented in two Tallinn trams. More information about the Tallinn Photomonth contemporary art biennial programme can be found at https://www.fotokuu.ee/en/programm.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Ilari Laamanen
Ilari Laamanen is an independent curator based in New York. He co-curated the ninth edition of the Momentum biennial in Moss, Norway in 2017. As the Director of Programs at the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York (2013–2020), he curated and commissioned projects to the Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New Museum’s Ideas City festival, and Brooklyn Bridge Park. At the FCINY he led the MOBIUS Fellowship Program for six years, establishing partnerships with institutions such as Artists Space, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and JUDD Foundation. He has edited the publications Crossroads – New Views on Art and Environment, MOBIUS Manual and Beyond the Pleasure Principle.

Lasnamäe Pavilion of Tallinn Art Hall
The Tallinn Art Hall Foundation is a contemporary art establishment that presents exhibitions in two galleries in 2022–2024 – at Tallinn Art Hall’s Lasnamäe Pavilion and Tallinn City Gallery. The exhibitions of Tallinn Art Hall are installed by Valge Kuup.

Tallinn Photomonth
Tallinn Photomonth is an international biennial of contemporary art which presents works from almost all areas of visual culture and looks more broadly at the development of art and society, increasingly mediated by photographic images, cameras and screens. Tallinn Photo Month was initiated in 2011 by the Estonian Union of Photography Artists (FOKU), which coordinates and supports collaboration between art institutions, galleries and artists.

Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink

Trance – the Main Exhibition of Tallinn Photomonth

Friday 06 October, 2023 — Sunday 26 November, 2023

On 6 October at 6 pm, Trance, the main exhibition of Tallinn Photomonth’s seventh edition, will open at Tallinn Art Hall’s Lasnamäe Pavilion.

It explores people’s everyday addiction to screens and includes works by 17 artists from eight countries, as well as three artist duos and one artist group. Several artists will present their works in Estonia for the first time. Curated by New York based, Finnish curator, Ilari Laamanen, the exhibition will remain open until 26 November.

“Trance looks into the charm and allure of being engaged with technology on the one hand, and the darker side of these rapid developments on the other. The presence of these objects is so mundane and pervasive, even to the point that not having one could give an individual the feeling of isolation from the social context altogether,” says Ilari Laamanen, curator of the exhibition. The exhibition focuses on technological trance as people’s dependence on screens, and it examines how the transition from photographic images to interactive screens, as well the intimately intertwined relationship between the two, marks one of the most significant and destabilising changes in the way in which humans perceive reality, but also how contemporary art can be a fertile ground for making sense of the relationship between technology and the human experience.

According to Laamanen, an art exhibition offers an environment where alternative ways of communicating and transmitting information can be used: “The artists in the exhibition utilise glitch as a conceptual tool, which offers the viewer an opportunity to take a break, step back from the technological trance, and contemplate on the meanings and significance of art and images.” The presented artworks invite viewers to perceive and analyse various means of (audio)visual presentation and to review their own relationship with watching.

The artists participating in the main exhibition are Sara Bjarland (FI/NL), Zody Burke (US/EE), Patricia Domínguez (CL), Elo-Reet Järv (EE), Karel Koplimets (EE), Diane Severin Nguyen (US), Veli Granö (FI), Laila Majid (AE/UK) and Louis Blue Newby (UK), Norman Orro and Joonas Timmi (EE), Pire Sova and Ando Naulainen (EE), Viktor Timofeev (LV/US), Anu Vahtra (EE), Jessica Wilson (US) and artist group CUSS Group (ZA).

According to Laamanen, Trance has an interdisciplinary and cross-generational focus, and each artist’s work has an unexpected impact at the exhibition: “The process of curatorial work has been strongly influenced by the unusual architecture of Tallinn Art Hall’s Lasnamäe Pavilion. The presented works are in dialogue with the exhibition space, which makes the exhibition an engaging and multi-sensory experience. Estonia-based artists Zody Burke, Karel Koplimets, Anu Vahtra, Pire Sova and Ando Naulainen will create new installations specially for Photo Month. I am very pleased to introduce the works of international artists Patricia Domínguez, Laila Majid and Louis Blue Newby, and the CUSS Group for the first time in Tallinn.”

The exhibition is accompanied by a rich public and educational programme, you can find further information on the Tallinn Art Hall website: https://www.kunstihoone.ee/en/programme/.

Running from 6 October to 26 November the Tallinn Photo Month ’23 main programme, includes international group exhibition Trance at Tallinn Art Hall’s Lasnamäe Pavilion and Artist Film screenings at Sõprus Cinema in collaboration with the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (16 and 17 November; curators Piibe Kolka and Genevieve Yue). The biennial’s Satellite programme includes a continued collaboration with several important partners and exhibition spaces focused on photo-led art in Tallinn. In cooperation with Tallinn City Transport, an urban space installation will be presented in two Tallinn trams. More information about the Tallinn Photomonth contemporary art biennial programme can be found at https://www.fotokuu.ee/en/programm.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Ilari Laamanen
Ilari Laamanen is an independent curator based in New York. He co-curated the ninth edition of the Momentum biennial in Moss, Norway in 2017. As the Director of Programs at the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York (2013–2020), he curated and commissioned projects to the Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New Museum’s Ideas City festival, and Brooklyn Bridge Park. At the FCINY he led the MOBIUS Fellowship Program for six years, establishing partnerships with institutions such as Artists Space, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and JUDD Foundation. He has edited the publications Crossroads – New Views on Art and Environment, MOBIUS Manual and Beyond the Pleasure Principle.

Lasnamäe Pavilion of Tallinn Art Hall
The Tallinn Art Hall Foundation is a contemporary art establishment that presents exhibitions in two galleries in 2022–2024 – at Tallinn Art Hall’s Lasnamäe Pavilion and Tallinn City Gallery. The exhibitions of Tallinn Art Hall are installed by Valge Kuup.

Tallinn Photomonth
Tallinn Photomonth is an international biennial of contemporary art which presents works from almost all areas of visual culture and looks more broadly at the development of art and society, increasingly mediated by photographic images, cameras and screens. Tallinn Photo Month was initiated in 2011 by the Estonian Union of Photography Artists (FOKU), which coordinates and supports collaboration between art institutions, galleries and artists.

Posted by Andres Lõo — Permalink

11.09.2023 — 17.03.2024

“Still Life” at EKA Billboard Gallery 11.09.2023–17.03.2024

Exhibition by the first year students of photography at EKA Billboard Gallery is open from September 11.

This exhibition presents a selection of works completed during the studio photography course of the first year students of the photography department of the Estonian Academy of Arts.

Artists: Denise Damaso, Kristjan Glück, Irma Holm, Mari Karjus, Taavet Kirja, Elias Kuulmann, Karlotta Lainväe, Anna Urakhchina

Supervisor: Madis Kurss

Posted by Kaisa Maasik — Permalink

“Still Life” at EKA Billboard Gallery 11.09.2023–17.03.2024

Monday 11 September, 2023 — Sunday 17 March, 2024

Exhibition by the first year students of photography at EKA Billboard Gallery is open from September 11.

This exhibition presents a selection of works completed during the studio photography course of the first year students of the photography department of the Estonian Academy of Arts.

Artists: Denise Damaso, Kristjan Glück, Irma Holm, Mari Karjus, Taavet Kirja, Elias Kuulmann, Karlotta Lainväe, Anna Urakhchina

Supervisor: Madis Kurss

Posted by Kaisa Maasik — Permalink