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A TOUCH OF OLD, A TOUCH OF NEW

The exhibition A TOUCH OF OLD, A TOUCH OF NEW showcases how the works of artist Raili Vinn, who is celebrating her 80th birthday, have evolved over time. The jewellery from the years 1989-90 is on display on A-Galerii’s WINDOW, while the new pieces created in 2023 are exhibited in the VAULT. Behind the chronological simplicity of the artist’s exhibition design lies Vinn’s contemplation on the abstract nature of ageing.

In the material world, people are constantly surrounded by both old and new items. Over an indeterminate period of time, the things transform from their initial state of new to become old. The assessment of “old” is subjective – sometimes an item or a phenomenon ages within a few days, and at other times, something from years ago still seems new.

Within the artist’s timeline, the distinctions of “old” and “new” blur in the massive continuum of existence, from which we seek to determine the age of materials used in her jewellery. Even the freshly crafted “new” pieces encompass both the old and the new. Among the materials used for the jewellery are ancient fossilised corals found in Estonian limestone, side by side with contemporary “new” corals – pieces from a coral reef that have been found from the shores of South China Sea.


Raili Vinn (born in 1943) is an Estonian jewellery artist. Her artistic journey began after completing high school, as she studied goldsmithing at ARS Kunstikool and continued her studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts (previously known as ERKI). To this day, she is devoted to the craft of jewellery making with great joy and passion. She is a member of the Estonian Artists’ Association and the Estonian Association of Metal Artists. Currently working as a freelance jewellery artist, Vinn previously worked as an artist in the media industry at Ajakirjanduslevi and the advertising company Antiikva and as the chief artist at the jewellery company Ars-Juveel.

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FROM SOIL AND OTHER THINGS

On Friday August 8, the exhibition FROM SOIL AND OTHER THINGS by Kristiina Laurits will open in the VAULT of A-Galerii.

The exhibition FROM SOIL AND OTHER THINGS delves into the deep layers of the soul much like a blind mole navigating its labyrinthine underworld. Darkness blurs the boundaries of actions and thoughts, urging one to give meaning to what remains unseen in the daylight. Rest assured, the talpa already knows whether it’s war or peace, heaven or earth.

Author’s Note: Talpa europaea, the common mole.

Kristiina Laurits (born 1975) is a recognized Estonian jewellery artist. She studied in the Department of Jewellery and Blacksmithing at the Estonian Academy of Arts (BA 1997, MA 2003). In 2000, she furthered her education at the Escola Massana jewellery department in Barcelona, and in 2023, she attended Tartu University, completing the microdegree program “Museums and Future Heritage.” Laurits works as an exhibition designer and installer at several Estonian museums.

Laurits has participated in more than 100 jewellery exhibitions in Europe, China, and the United States. Her works are part of permanent collections at the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design, as well as the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York. Laurits has been a member of the jewellery art group Castle In the Air (õhuLoss) since 1999. In 2017, she published the artist book “THE HAPPY FEW. Jewellery and Objects.”

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LOOPS

From July 28, the exhibition LOOPS by Valdek Laur will be open in the VAULT of A-Galerii. The exhibition is free of charge for all visitors. The exhibition will stay open until September 2.

Exhibition LOOPS presents Valdek Laur’s commentary on the feedback loops created by cultural norms and stereotypes, which have influenced humanity throughout the ages. By intertwining science fiction and fantasy with history and myths, he seeks alternatives to contemporary ways of existence. In his work, Laur employs iron, bronze and silver casting, along with 3D printing.

The world is in perpetual flux. Countless feedback-amplified trends, or loops, are evolving, engaged in constant power struggles. Thoughts influence opinions and provoke actions, which in turn shapes the future. Thoughts and actions that find support gain strength and transform into ideologies. However, how often do we truly contemplate the direction of our worldview?

Ideologies profoundly impact culture, both in substance and form. Every symbol, sign, and word carries building blocks of meaning, which create jokes, stories and movies, but also belief systems, and mythologies. Each shape, material, and composition represents a belief and has its own field of meaning. At times, these fields resonate with societal attitudes, while at other times, they fade and slumber. Amplifying or, conversely, suppressing beliefs is one of the only few ways we, as individuals, can genuinely contribute to shaping the future. Hence, we must ask ourselves, what is the ultimate destination of our supported path? What do we actually strive for?

Valdek Laur is a multidisciplinary artist based in Estonia, intertwining 3D modelling, jewellery art, and sculpture. He is fascinated by prehistoric myths, speculative political science, and futurology. Laur has published articles, delivered lectures, and voiced opinions on the societal impact of artificial intelligence and machine learning. He holds a bachelor’s degree in advertising and media from Tallinn University and in blacksmithing from the Estonian Academy of Arts. His works have been exhibited in solo and group shows in Estonia, Latvia, and Germany.

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ABUNDANCE

On Friday June 16, the exhibition ABUNDANCE by Margit Paulin will open in the VAULT of A-Galerii. Selve Miil will perform with a gong at the opening event which will take place at the gallery on June 16 starting 6 PM. The exhibition is free of charge for all visitors. The exhibition will stay open until July 22.

ABUNDANCE draws inspiration from the discovery of one’s place, the process of adapting to it, and the emotions that emerge from existence and living. Joy, sadness, loneliness, and fear—all of these are portrayed through the offerings of the garden and the forest.

It is often the little things, beyond our control, that bring us joy… You arrive at a place that you recognize from afar, as if it has been awaiting your arrival… The intuition is so right, yet comprehending how to navigate it all remains a mystery… You trust and accept it as it is, as you are, simply existing… And simple things will unfold irrespective of your influence, when you take a moment to pause… You observe that the currants are larger today than the last time, and the cranberries juicier than before. The mind and palate become saturated with abundance, the soul finds solace, and no more is needed!

The showcased jewellery is meticulously handcrafted, with the gemstones cut by the artist using traditional goldsmithing techniques. The materials encompass natural gemstones from Finland, Kenya, the United States, and the artist’s personal collection. Additionally, there are both freshwater and saltwater pearls from Hawaii and Japan, along with silver, gold, and zinc alloy.

Margit Paulin (1980) is an Estonian jewellery artist who brings her creations to life in her home studio situated in a small village amidst the sea and the forest. Paulin’s work primarily revolves around the juxtaposition of worldly experiences with introspection. Through shapes and materials derived from nature, the artist expresses the interplay between the individual and the vast world. Sailors have a saying: “The sea gives, the sea takes!” For Paulin, the same synergy of natural law applies everywhere—nature requires preservation in order to provide more. In 2012, Paulin graduated from the Department of Metal Art at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Driven by a profound interest in gemstones, she continues her studies in gemology at the American Gemological Institute. Paulin has participated in several exhibitions primarily in her homeland, as well as in Israel.

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CEMETERY OF WORDS

From Tuesday May 16, the exhibition CEMETERY OF WORDS by Maria Valdma Härm will be open in the VAULT of A-Galerii. On June 2, at 5PM a public artist talk with Maria Valdma Härm will take place at A-Galerii after which there will be an exhibition tour with the artist. The exhibition will stay open until June 10.

CEMETERY OF WORDS is a performative library, where actions are stored into matter in the form of jewellery and an installation. The burned books are collected from the book collection point, from where they would have gone on to be destroyed. This action with the books is like an act of euthanasia. In many ways, the author’s idea was inspired by Jean Paul Didierlaurent’s book “The Reader on the 6.27” and Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s “Shadow of the Wind”.

With CEMETERY OF WORDS the artist continues to develop the existing themes in her work that are related to memory and space. Her last solo exhibition “Memory Palace” at the Tallinn City Gallery was based on the location method (method of loci), where information is organised by imagining it – memorable words or thoughts are made into pictures in the mind and placed successively next to the most prominent places on that journey.

With this exhibition the focus is on text, word and paper. The idea is driven by a certain sense of inevitability – by the loss of different possibilities of capturing texts and the analysis of this. For example a physical book that is fading into insignificance; how long do we need a paper book on our bedside table or in our bag? This is the regret over something that’s disappearing, over the possible extinctions of the inner dialogues that emerge from texts that have been read and that have settled in the subconscious. A regret over the possibility of “stealing” existence and identities.

Maria Valdma Härm’s work centres around the relationships of spatiality, memory and the individual which she explores through the poetics of jewellery art. Her work is based on connecting jewellery with issues regarding the quality of spaces, examining the connections between the wearer and the worn item, as well as on the reflections arising from the fusion of personal and public space. The jewellery and the space as a whole is something that exists and expands in the artist’s mind from the very beginning of her creative process and these elements form a conceptual unity in all of her solo exhibitions. Valdma Härm explores how identities emerge, and how relationships set and store as poetic images in space and memory, consciousness or cognition. The jewellery as a message carrier together with the installative space will transform the “word” into something wearable that will reflect from the personal to the general, from the worn item onto the wearer and from there onwards onto a passing stranger. Further encounters are elusive.

Maria Valdma Härm (born in 1973) is a renowned Estonian jewellery artist. She graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts in 2000 with a master’s degree in metal art. Valdma Härm has participated in exhibitions since 1994. In addition to Estonia and several other European countries, she has had exhibitions in Brazil, China, Korea and the US. From 1996-2005 she participated in the art group F.F.F.F.. She has been awarded the annual prize of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia in 2021 and in 2002 (together with the F.F.F.F. group). In 2016, she received the Young Estonian Jewellery Award. 

After 30 years of exhibition activity, Valdma Härm’s works can be found in the permanent collections of several museums (Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design, Art Museum of Estonia), as well as private collections around the world. Maria Valdma Härm is a member of the Estonian Artists’ Association and is a gallerist for the association’s HOP Gallery.

Thank You:

Anders Härm, Piret Kändler, Andres Ansper, Eve Kaaret, Ketli Tiitsar and Henri Leetmäe.

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EX POST

On Thursday, April 6th, the exhibition EX POST by Tanel Veenre, will be opened simultaneously in Draakon gallery and the VAULT of A-Galerii.⁠ The exhibition will stay open in Draakon gallery until April 29 and in the VAULT of A-Galerii until May 6. ⁠⁠On April 22 a public artist talk with Tanel Veenre will take place at A-Galerii after which there will be an exhibition tour in A-Galerii and Draakon gallery.

What comes after? 

I’m in the moment between then and now, confined in space and time. But what comes after?

(Tanel Veenre)

The exhibition EX POST began when Tanel’s father, a musician and craftsman, offered his son the pipes of an organ that was left unfinished with restoration work. The wooden organ was acquired by his father when Tanel was still a child and most likely comes from an old parsonage in Keila, Estonia. Initially, some of the organ pipes found their way to Veenre’s solo exhibition “Organ” at the Temnikova & Kasela gallery in the early summer of 2021, where the artist exhibited his gloomy series of jewellery on them. The pipes, however, stuck on Tanel’s mind and he started working with the wood – slicing, sanding, glueing it. He also involved his father in the process, who gave the finishing touches to the wood, and thus the exhibition pieces are a joint effort.

The exhibition that is spread out over two spaces – A-Galerii and Draakon gallery, located a few steps away from each other, exposes an army of pipes, otherwise hidden inside the organ. In addition to jewellery, for the first time, Veenre has also created jewellery for space. The exhibition features objects of sound and an installation of a flying organ. The miniature precious works on display in A-Galerii act as crystalline echoes of the large works presented in Draakon gallery.

Eliminating noise and achieving clarity of thought has been important for Veenre in creating the exhibition. The main materials used in the pieces are the wooden organ pipes combined with some engraved stone and silver. 

“I have never before been so minimalistic, but at the same time, the organ pipes as a symbol gave me a powerful arsenal of meanings. Sound became the invisible inevitability of the exhibition – the wooden glow of the organ. If jewellery is considered “wearable art”, then for the jewellery of this series, it would be more accurate to use the expression “wearable sounds”. Each pipe has a unique timbre and sound that I tried to preserve. The more than a 100-year-old instrument from an old Estonian parsonage in Keila has reached its end destination and transformed into something new. One organism (organ = organ) is dispersed into fragments, each of which has its own being.” – Tanel Veenre

Tanel Veenre (b. 1977) is an Estonian jewellery artist and designer. Growing up in a family of artists and musicians, Veenre was interested in art since his childhood, and his art studies began in the art class of Pelgulinna High School. In 2005, Veenre graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts, majoring in jewellery. In 2014, he created his brand, Tanel Veenre Jewellery, which due to expansion into fashion and lifestyle from 2021 carries the name Tanel Veenre.

Tanel Veenre’s work has been recognized both locally and internationally. Among other honours, he is a laureate of the Kristjan Raud Art Award (2010), Estonian National Cultural Award (2016) and the Tallinn Fashion Week’s Estonian fashion design grand prix Kuldnõel (2019). His work has been shown at nearly 300 exhibitions and fashion shows around the world: from Berlin to Bangkok and from Amsterdam to Santiago. Veenre has also been awarded with the best display and curating award of the International Fashion Showcase at London Fashion Week and in 2014 he was the first Estonian jewellery artist to be mentioned in Vogue Italia. Tanel Veenre’s jewellery invites the wearer to believe in fairy tales, fantasy and the vastness of imagination.

The exhibition is supported by the Estonian Cultural Foundation and La Gioiosa.

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A GIFT OF BLEEDING HEARTS

On Friday, 17 February at 18:00, Keiu Koppel will open the exhibition A GIFT OF BLEEDING HEARTS at the A-Galerii VAULT. The exhibition will stay open until 30 March.

Bleeding hearts or Dicentra spectabilis are farm flowers familiar to many from summers spent in the countryside at their grandmother’s house as a child. Supple, delicate, pink, lovely and with a name so dramatic that a more striking one would be hard to come up with. A row of small white or pink split hearts fluttering in the warm breeze. In Estonian the plant is known as the broken heart, another very direct reference to its teardrop shape that seems to be split in the middle. Bleeding hearts are fragile and at the same time strange and special, embodying exactly that human vulnerability and brokenness as well as a genuine beauty that is often kept only for oneself. It is a delicate flower within us that must be protected from the world.

Bleeding hearts. A certain meaningful intrigue could be perceived in this name even in childhood. Most likely a naive and cinematic idea of how intense certain strong feelings might be. Today’s concerns have become completely different and have redrawn former imaginings with shades that could not be found in a child’s palette.

Nowadays it is polite to be beautiful, happy and satisfied. However, there is another side, which we see rarely and briefly, when cracks finally fracture and compositions have permanently decomposed.

February has been the month of Valentine’s Day for our people for nearly 30 years. This western holiday of bubbling hearts and sweet chocolate sums up why our generation has been accurately described as the sad generation with happy faces. All this is present in Valentine’s Day today: the pressure to consume and celebrate, a prerequisite for a happy relationship and love. As a sharp contrast, all this is carried by the reality of lonely people and sad statistics.

Keiu Koppel is a jewellery artist who graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts, majoring in jewellery and blacksmithing, whose creations inspired by an admiration for nature combine detail, meaningful thoughts and a high level of goldsmithing. Keiu’s playful works have inspiring stories and details and with their spatiality and mobility, offer the wearer a kinetic jewellery experience. A GIFT OF BLEEDING HEARTS is Keiu Koppel’s third solo exhibition at A-Galerii VAULT.

The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

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TOUCHED BY FINE LINE

Exhibition TOUCHED BY FINE LINE was chosen as the best VAULT exhibition of A-Gallery in 2023.

On Friday, January 13th at 6 p.m., a memorial exhibition of Lia Tüür, was opened in the VAULT of A-Galerii.

The memorial exhibition TOUCHED BY FINE LINE for Lia Tüür, who passed away in November of last year, provides for the first time an overview of the artist’s creative path, which began in 1960s, using family archive materials and photos, designs and works from the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design, the History Museum, the Tallinn City Museum and the Estonian Artists’ Association as well as private collections.

When looking back at Lia Tüür’s work, the first thing that comes to mind is her extremely masterful drawing skills and gentle graphic surface handling, regardless of the material she was working with. As if with a playful lightness, she sketched the everyday beauty around her, looking for spirituality and harmony to apply to her jewellery.

Lia Tüür’s greatest passion was the very time-consuming and complex engraving technique. In the flexible graphic lines on the metal surface, the boundless creative freedom and sensitivity of the humble artist was expressed. Each cut that produced a line required fortitude and a focused mind with technical mastery. The sensitivity and tenderness that is reflected in her works does not reveal the years of disciplined routine, the endless hours spent behind the goldsmith’s desk on the preparation of the tools and the engraving process, and the tenacious dedication of a fragile woman that was required to create these works.

A-Galerii provides a meaningful setting for the exhibition as it was Lia Tüür whose idea it was to create a gallery focused on Estonian art jewellery in 1993. In cooperation with a group of colleagues, the idea was implemented on Hobusepea Street and A-Galerii was opened in 1994. Thanks to Lia Tüür’s bold vision, balanced character and ability to bring people together, A-Galerii has become an important center for the jewellery filed in Estonia.

The organizer and designer of the exhibition is Ketli Tiitsar together with A-Gallery. The exhibition will be in the VAULT of the gallery. In addition to jewellery, materials, photographs and designs from the artist’s personal archives that have not been exhibited before will also be shown.

A catalog designed by Paula Hõbe will accompany the exhibition. The author of the catalog is Ketli Tiitsar. The exhibition catalog is printed at EVG print. 

The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and Nautimus.