This year, the largest annual group exhibition of Estonian jewellery art turns its focus to values. At a time when value is so often reduced to numbers, the artists highlight other forms of worth – those shaped by collaboration, community, and the relationships that emerge in shared space. The exhibition brings together works by A-Galerii’s community alongside artists who have recently engaged with jewellery from new angles, creating a meeting point across generations and backgrounds.
The exhibition design by artist Karl Joonas Alamaa features soft figurative objects made from leftover garment textiles, combined with organic wooden and metal structures. It intertwines jewellery with sculptural forms and invites reflection on the role of jewellery amid the complexities of being human and living through sharply contrasting crises.
The title “One to Many” points to the tension between valuing uniqueness and universality, carrying an ironic undertone: whatever, just one among many. Each artwork becomes a small world of its own, a question and a possible answer. In a large group exhibition, seemingly similar parts multiply and individuality may blur, yet something distinctly original still emerges, offering new perspectives and unexpected shifts.
The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.
Curator: Sille Luiga
Exhibition design: Karl Joonas Alamaa
Graphic design: Villem Sarapuu
64 artists: Mirjam Aun, Andrei Balašov, Merike Balod, Jens Andreas Clausen, Margus Elizarov, Rita-Livia Erikson, Kati Erme, Elize Hiiop, Tatiana Iakovleva, Hedi Jaansoo, Ivar Kaasik, Keesi Kapsta, Mari Käbin, Liisi Kõuhkna, Keiu Koppel, Ülle Kõuts, Kalle Kotselainen, Olga Tea Krek, Kadi Kübarsepp, Triin Kukk, Valdek Laur, Kristiina Laurits, Krista Lehari, Claudia Lepik, Viktorija Lillemets, Elis Liivo, Urmas Lüüs, Keiu Maasik, Tõnis Malkov, Henry Mardisalu, Ülle Mesikäpp, Juulia Aleksandra Mikson, Paul Aadam Mikson, Maarja Niinemägi, Erle Nemvalts, Ulrika Paemurru, Õnne Paulus, Margit Paulin, Mari Pärtelpoeg, Darja Popolitova, Ane Raunam, Anne Reinberg, Mari Relo-Šaulys, Liisa-Chrislin Saleh, Tamara Sergijenko, Kairi Sirendi, Birgit Skolimowski, Riin Somelar, Kärt Summatavet, Hansel Tai, Sven Tali, Harry Tensing, Margus Tänav, Bianca Triinu Toots, Kertu Tuberg, Maria Valdma-Härm, Ene Valter, Katrin Veegen, Kadi Veesaar, Kertu Vellerind, Tea Vellerind, Raili Vinn, Ülle Voosalu
Andrei Balašov about the exhibition: “THE SECOND STORY exhibition is the sequel to my previous exhibition XII SONETT. It is an experiment with symbols of secrecy, fragments of texts and copies of coins. ”
Summer – a colourful, diverse and inspiring season, a dream of an eternal paradise. Reflecting the extreme heat of this year’s summer, the exhibition brings together Andrei Balashov’s work of the last years, presenting an array of small-scale sculptures, objects and jewellery that highlight the symbiosis of metal and colour, research and experimentations with various techniques and technologies.
Andrei Balašov (b. 1965 in Tallinn) is an Estonian jewelry artist who in recent years has worked in the genre of small sculpture, dealing with anthropomorphic forms, experimenting with casting techniques and textures. Balašov has studied at the Estonian Academy of Arts and Lahti Goldsmiths’ School in Finland. He has exhibited his works in solo exhibitions at Gallery Susi in Riga, Latvia, Kauno Langas in Kaunas, Lithuania, and Uzopio Galerija in Vilnius. This is the artist’s sixth solo exhibition at A-Gallery. Balašov has participated in group exhibitions in Sweden, the USA, Germany, Finland and the Netherlands. In 1996, Balašov was awarded the Edde Kurrel Estonian Metal Artist Award.
Igor BalašovIgor BalašovAndrei BalašovTea VellerindKertu VellerindKatarina ja Kalle Kotselainen
BALAŠOV x VELLERIND x KOTSELAINEN creates an insight into the transmission of the spirit of metal art between generations on the example of three families. Mother and daughter Tea and Kertu Vellerind, father and son Andrei and Igor Balašov and brother and sister Katarina and Kalle Kotselainen will participate in the exhibition.
“You can’t pass on your knowledge more heartily or passionately than by growing together, playing at the grassroots level. There is something sincere, joyful and reverent in this unconscious transmission of the metal spirit, which infects the following generations with knowledge and creativity,” says A-Gallery gallerist and jewellery artist Marita Lumi about the exhibition.
RELIQUARY Andrei Balašov
“The mini sculptures in the exhibition are made with a principle inspired by the Middle Ages. A reliquary is a thing, a box or an unfolding storage in which very sacred and valuable things are stored. Reliquaries can be found, for example, in Catholic and Orthodox churches. The exhibition presents four silver figures, three of which are reliquaries. The figure of a woman is LILY, or woman as a temptress, the second is WAITING FOR THE SUN with a red stone, and the third is SAINT SEBASTIAN pierced with arrows.”
Andrei Balašov (b. 1965) graduated from Tallinn Art University and improved his education at the Lahti Design Institute. His works have been shown, among others, at the Tallinn Applied Art Triennale, in galleries SOFA (Chicago), Sienna Gallery (Lenox, USA), Galerie Beeld Aambeeld (Enschede, Netherlands), Gallery Chic Choc (Berlin), Gallery Stockgard (Siuntio, Finland) and Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design.
BORDER POSTS Igor Balašov
“Our understanding of the structure of the world is sometimes beautiful illusion. The metaphor of the cornerstone as an unshakable boundary loses its meaning.
The year was 1990. These works are like a relationship between two countries. Like border posts.
One of the posts has the symbols of one country and graphic details are used, for example, Orthodox symbols and the time of the council. On the other, the Estonian coat of arms and crown – symbols of the republic. “
Igor Balašov (b. 1940 in Russia) is a meritorious Estonian sculptor and member of Estonian Artists’ Association, studied at Estonian Applied Art Institute in 1959-1965. Perhaps his most famous artwork is TELESILM (TV-eye), which decorates the building of Estonian Television. Balašov has also created monumental sculptures elsewhere – his works are in Osaka, Japan, Moscow, Russia, Ukraine and the Netherlands. He has participated in prestigious art fairs and exhibitions all over the world, and his works belong to the collections of prestigious foundations and museums (Estonian Art Museum, Tretyakov Gallery, Pushkin Museum, etc.).
BALANCE Tea Vellerind
“The idea of my works is balance. Since I once wanted to become an architect, I am still interested in the balance of spatial volumes, simplicity and conciseness. Everyone has their golden ratio, and I’m looking for mine.”
Tea Vellerind(b. 1939 in Rakvere) graduated from Estonian Applied Art Institute with a specialization in metal construction. From 1966, she worked as an artist at the Ars-Juveel factory. Tea has participated in numerous individual and group exhibitions both at home and abroad, among others at the Art Salon (today’s Art Building Gallery), Tallinn City Museum, Tampere Art Building Gallery, A-Gallery and Riga Old Town Gallery. She is a member of the Estonian Artists’ Association and a founding member of the jewellery company OÜ Kuldgraal. In 2017, Tea was the laureate of the Ede Kurrel annual award of the Estonian Metal Artists’ Association.
BLOCKHEAD Kertu Vellerind
“My works always have specific titles, because the message in the jewellery is important to me. I enjoy the game with the Estonian language. I interpret this exhibition as a haiku:
vinguv tuul kõle / whining wind desolate sasides aju mõtted peas /ruffle brain thoughts in head mängin keelega / I play with tongue.“
Kertu Vellerind (b. 1967) studied at Estonian Academy of Arts in Metal Department (BA and MA) , at the Lahti Design Institute in Finland and the Drawing Academy of Hanau on the Main in Germany. Kertu has participated in exhibitions both in Estonia and abroad. Since 2016, together with Urve Küttner, she has been a laureate of the Ede Kurrel annual award. In the same year, she was awarded the 3rd place at the Biennale of International Enamel Art in Vilnius, Lithuania. In 2017, Kertu was a nominee of the jewellery competition “Eesti Ehe 2017 – EV 100” organized by the Estonian Gold and Watchmakers’ Union and the laureate of the best annual exhibition 2017 of the A-Gallery.
A LITTLE LUXURY II Katarina Kotselainen, Kalle Kotselainen
“We were born into a family where we have always been good at doing things with our hands. Family-wise, I am surrounded by the jewellery mafia, as I jokingly sayto myself, because my boyfriend, father, brother and sister-in-law also make jewellery. I grew up in different cities in Finland, and although traveling is in my blood, I am driven primarily by sentimentality to make jewellery. For me, jewellery is something very personal and associated with memories of people, places and feelings. If my works also evoke positive feelings in the viewer, then I am happy that I have been able to make someone’s day a little bit better.”- Katarina
Katarina Kotselainen (b. 1982 in Tartu) studied at Estonian Academy of Arts (2006 EKA BA, 2010 EKA MA) and improved her education repeatedly in Germany and Norway. Since 2002, Katarina has participated in exhibitions in different parts of the world.
Kalle Kotselainen (b. 1981 in Tartu): “I like the appreciation of the material in damask. By forging different metals together, a unique pattern is born every time. Damascus steel goes well with other metals.” Kalle Kotselainen has been designing and making precious metal jewellery for over ten years. He graduated from Vana-Vigala Technical and Service School blacksmith specialty in 2019.
