AINO KAPSTA
(15 July 1935 – 24 March 2024)
MEMORIAL EXHIBITION
This exhibition offers a small glimpse into the rich and multifaceted world of Aino’s creative work, a kind of jewellery magic that brings together a variety of materials, intriguing surface treatments, forms, and stones.
The display begins with her early copper pieces, created during the Soviet era. Many of Aino’s jewels from that time are part of the permanent collection at the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design. Following those are sets from the 1980s, showcasing her refined craftsmanship and keen eye for combining different materials. Brooches, both in copper and silver, were among Aino’s favorites; they were her passion, and she approached them as complete little worlds. The exhibition concludes with silver filigree sets adorned with her beloved rock crystals. In her later years, it was precisely this delicate filigree technique that presented her with the greatest artistic challenges and joys, offering endless opportunities for experimentation and refinement.
Aino was an extraordinarily vibrant, brilliant, talented, and dedicated jewellery artist who remained active in exhibitions well into old age. Originally from Saaremaa, she graduated from ERKI (now the Estonian Academy of Arts) in 1961. Her jewellery was marked by a delicate elegance, yet carried a strong presence. Artist Tanel Veenre once aptly said of her work: “Extreme lightness combined with a down-to-earth soul.”
And in Aino’s own words: “So that inner harmony and peace would be carried through my jewellery to its wearer.”
Exhibitions at A-Galerii are supported by the Estonian Cultural Endowment.
