And beauty is born. In the midst of brown mud, slush and mire: a hum, a tremor, germination, multiplication, flourishing. This is the force of nature, lower than the grass, taking root in dark depths, reaching toward the tender warmth of light to bloom. And it cannot be held back, and spring awakens, and summer bends in abundance… once, and always, and forever.
The NATURE’S UPRISING exhibition can be visited from March 20 in the A-Gallery showroom and will remain open until June 30, 2026.
Participating artists:
Anneli Tammik, Ene Valter, Erle Nemvalts, Ester Faiman, Guntis Lauders, Harry Tensing, Henry Mardisalu, Hyrv, Katrin Kosenkranius, Keesi Kapsta, Keiu Koppel, Kertu Tuberg, Krista Laos, Krista Lehari, Liisbeth Kirss, Lisa Kröber, Margit Paulin, Mari Pärtelpoeg, Merike Balod, Michael Schoorl, Robert Idvani, Riin Somelar, Tanel Veenre, Urve Küttner, Viktorija Lillemets, Ülle Voosalu
Chomp-chomp, crk and BOOP! Well what do we have here? A SURPRISE!
As a continuation of last year’s “Surprise Egg Exhibition”, A-Gallery is once again hosting an Easter-themed pop-up exhibition: BUNNIES, EGGS, AND OTHER CUTIES. For this occasion, we invite you to wake up from winter’s slumber – it’s time to rise and hop on over to us! At the exhibition, you can acquire your very own “MARCH HARE”, “EASTER BUNNY,” or “BRAVE RABBIT.” Each cutie that finds a new owner will help bring spring faster!
Participating artists: Anne Reinberg, Caius Kull, Edgar Volkov, Ene Valter, Erle Nemvalts, Henry Mardisalu, Kadi Kübarsepp, Katariina Kriipsalu, Katrin Kosenkranius, Keesi Kapsta, Kertu Vellerind, Krista Lehari, Liina Lelov, Liisu Saar, Mari Pärtelpoeg, Merike Balod, Viktorija Lillemets, Ülle Mesikäpp, Pilvi Tammoja, Ülle Voosalu
Poster design by Rasmus Lukas Curated by Sille Luiga
The bunny exhibition can be visited from March 17th in the A-Galerii showroom and will remain open until April 30th, 2025. We are grateful for your help in spreading the word!
The bunnies and other new jewellery are easiest to find in our e-shop under the NEW JEWELLERY category.
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
Through generations, fairytales have been reservoirs of dreams, hopes, and fantasies. Millions of women have shaped their psychosexual self-image through these tales – what behavior is expected of them, what they are capable of, how much recognition they deserve, and in what shape this recognition should come in. Unfortunately, the romantic ideal depicted in fairytales is difficult to fit into reality. How to find a balance between the longing for a companion, the fear of loneliness, and the desire for independence? Love is the answer, but as you seek for the answer…
Erle Nemvalts (1991) is an Estonian jewellery artist. Her creative practice focuses primarily on human behavioral patterns and characteristics. In her work, the artist often employs contrasting symbols and materials, simultaneously expressing lightness and heaviness, hope and despair. Nemvalts’ work has been exhibited in numerous exhibitions in Estonia, Portugal, Germany, France, Belgium, the United States, the Netherlands, and Hungary. In 2019, Nemvalts was awarded the Young Jewellery Fund’s Special Scholarship, and in 2023, she received the Marzee Gallery’s Graduates Exhibition Prize.
The exhibition is supported by the Estonian Cultural Endowment.
MERILIN PEDASTSAAR
FLOW
Flow – it is the manifestation of naturalness, of one’s most natural quality (the healing power of medicinal herbs, natural patina on metal). Taoists say that one does not achieve naturalness by striving upwards, but rather by going in the opposite direction – descending.
Patina is a thin oxide layer formed on the surface of metal over time, resulting from exposure to elements in the environment. For example, iron forms its natural patina, known as rust, when reacting with oxygen and moisture in the air.
The exhibition FLOW presents abstract paintings by Merilin Pedastsaar, executed on brass and steel. Techniques to achieve that include laser cutting, etching, casting, and chemical coloring known as patinating of metals. The history of metal coloring dates back thousands of years and has served religious, practical, and decorative purposes. Patination became more widely recognized as an art form in the 19th century. Pedastsaar says: “Coloring metals requires concentration – precise adherence to the patina recipe, but also patience and letting go. Once the work is done, step back! Much of the final result is unpredictable, one must trust life and give the metal a chance. Colors are in constant movement – emerging and fading, while covering each other. For me this process of flowing together with patina has been equally stunning and enjoyable, a collaboration, which could be summarized with the teaching of Laozi: Act without action.”
Merilin Pedastsaar (1989), known by the artist name MERI, is a metal artist, creative director, and galvanizer in her company Ehemeri. In 2014, she obtained a bachelor’s degree from the Estonian Academy of Arts, and the same year she was awarded the Roman Tavast Young Jewellery Artist Prize. Pedastsaar furthered her studies in Sweden, as an exchange student at the University of Gothenburg’s Faculty of Design and Craft and as an intern in Christer and Lena Bergestad Jonsson’s studio, Jungfruhuset. From 2015 to 2020, she worked as a visiting lecturer at the Viljandi Culture Academy, teaching courses on galvanizing (galvanoplasty, gold and silver-plating, patination, metal etching, and anodizing).
Since 2007, the A-Gallery has been selecting the best Vault exhibition every year. The aim of the competition is to appreciate the masterful achievements of jewellery artists in their work. The winner will be determined by the shareholders of A-Gallery.
LOTS OF WATER AND LITTLE GOLD is a reflection on time and timelessness. The exhibition focuses on three themes that seem different at first glance, yet are connected to each other – the forest, evanescence and symbols.
All three phenomena meet in the ancient South-Estonian funeral traditions, part of which involves cutting a cross in a living tree. Cutting this cross is an expression of respect to the deceased as well as a diversion of magic – the soul is shut into the tree so that the deceased can find peace and will not visit the homes of the living.
People respect and fear the forest like they respect and fear the dead. The forest is an unknown place where danger lurks. However, one of the most ancient worldviews is the tree of the world as the source of life and rebirth. The latter can also be considered one of the beginnings of the cross, as it divides the world vertically into parts: higher beings, mere mortals and the dead, and horizontally into four cardinal points.
The exhibition studies the connections between these three themes as well as their background, and thinks about the changes in people’s attitudes towards their surroundings over time. Since some views of life have changed radically, each piece at the exhibition symbolises social phenomena that, in the author’s opinion, have changed so much over time, there isn’t much ‘gold’ left in them.
The exhibition, titled SOURCES OF VIRTUE, ponders upon the evergreen search for ethical modes of existence in uncertain contemporary times.
“Throughout times people have been striving towards universal virtuousness. Despite that, it is very difficult to find a domain of human activity, where ethical or moral compromises are not being made in favour of some specific group.Time after time, the interests of narrow groups have been wreaking havoc on both themselves and their surroundings. Yet this is nothing new. Mankind has often been on the brink of destruction, but somehow managed to survive, and will likely do so in the future. The question is not in survival, but rather in the core values of continued existence.” – Nemvalts, Erle, on the quest for sources of virtue, 2020.
Erle Nemvalts is a jewellery artist pursuing master’s degree in Estonian Academy of Arts. Her works are mainly concentrated on patterns and peculiarities of human behaviour. Her works have been exhibited in several group exhibitions both in Estonia as well as abroad, in 2019 she received the special prize of Young Jewellery Foundation. SOURCES OF VIRTUE is her second solo exhibition.
Supporters: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Suhkruingel. Special thanks to: Cathrin Kaldmaa, Kaur Virkebau, Riina Kütt, Urmas Nemvalts, Valdek Laur.
