Scenes from That Marriage
Anne-Mai Heimola, Karmo Mende
Nov 18- Dec 10, 2023

A duo of scenographers, Anne-Mai Heimola and Karmo Mende, have set up an emotional, language-defying installation with which they seek to guess each other’s experiences.  To create the whole, they utilise ready-made objects, large-scale paintings and custom lighting.

How do real-life experiences and communication build mental spaces? Whispers. Doubts. Misgivings. Suspicion. A corner of shame…

Karmo Mende (b. 1971) graduated from Tartu Arts School in 1991 and scenography at the Estonian Academy of Arts in 1995. Worked at various theatres and TV channels as art director. Since 2000 has been living and working in Finland, where he’s served as head of the Finnish Scenographers’ and Costumers’ Union, plus artist at Seinäjoki and Jyväskylä theatres. Participated as a freelancer in numerous projects by other Finnish theatres. Recently returning to his native country, he’s also head of the Estonian Scenographers’ Union.

Anne-Mai Heimola ( b. 1960) is a painter and scenographer. She graduated from scenography at the Estonian Academy of Arts in 1995, worked as set designer at the National Drama Theatre 1980-1986, as set painter at the National Opera and Ballet Theatre Estonia in 1995-2007, as artist, decorator, prop manager and costumer at the Von Krahl Theatre 2000-2012, and participated in numerous theatre and film projects as a freelancer. Member of the Esonian Artists’ Association and the Estonian Painters’ Union, she’s been participating in exhibitions since 1995. Her creative work also includes large-scale interior paintings. She experiments with a number of techniques from classic oil and tempera painting to her own inventions with earth pigments.

Graphic design: Kati Kerstna. Photos: Tiina Kõrtsini

Thanks to: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Rapla County Municipalities Development Foundation.

Of Surfaces, Lines, and Eigenraums
21.10-12.12.2023

Working in layered printmaking techniques shapes the artists’ modes of thinking; it is the language of the narrative. Seven artists have taken the tools of the printmaker, moving with them from the surface of paper into space. As a new mountain range arising, the question looms: can printmaking develop a third dimension? What will be its spatial properties? What sort of landscapes will artists generate in their varied techniques and eigenraums? Gestures, workshops and materials are undoubtedly present, endowed with a voice, part of the decision-making. Stone, paper, scissors, wood and fabrics – these are just a few of the substances possessing a voice and subjecthood on par with the author.  We address the essential, empirical questions of our artistic practice, while pushing the limits and potential of printmaking in the wider landscape of contemporary art. Every author has focused on one  particular technique, achieving  a masterful synthesis of conceptualisation and craftsmanship. The exhibition hall has become a universe of techniques: lithography, serigraphy, linocut, typesetting, drypoint, photopolymeric print, etching and so on.

Surfaces form landscapes which have ceased to be flat; even the warmth and porousness of paper, the indentation left by the matrix, the ink colours – all contribute to the tactile, textured, layered quality of the works.

Lines can, in the present context, be considered both as the framework of classic printmaking, and subsequent attempts to overcome them, as well as lines on paper – the building blocks of graphic arts.

Eigenraums are formed by stages of the process, materials, planned and random events that coalesce into single masterpieces or series of works. An eigenraum is defined as each artist’s unique psychical and physical space, with its characteristic interpretation and self-reflection. It is more than the sum of the artists’ work, encompassing their life experiences, world views,  and the new worlds they create.

Let us unroll the printmaking microcosms – we wish you a pleasant journey!

Artists: Britta Benno, Maria Erikson, Maria Izabella Lehtsaar, Mari Prekup, Lilli-Krõõt Repnau, Helen Tago, Kadri Toom
Curator: Britta Benno
Graphic design: Nelli Viisimaa
Thanks to: Rapla County  Centre for Contemporary Art, Rapla  County Municipalities’ Development Foundation, Cultural Endowmnént of Estonia, Estonian Academy of Arts printmaking department, Estonian  Printmakers’ Association, Graafika.ee

Open 21.10-12.12.2023 Tue-Sunl 15.00 – 18.00

Riin Pallon – Lyrics of the Lagoons
Rapla Gymnasium, Kooli 8, Rapla
Oct 5 – Nov 10, 2023
In cooperation with Rapla County Centre for Contemporary Art

Riin Pallon wanders in the playgrounds of the subconcious, inspired by philosophical planes of thought, apocalyptic moods, dreams, but also questions such as what it means to be a female artist, to divide oneself between various roles and duties, looking for balance. In her lyrical and surreal perception of the inner and the outer world, she blends seemingly  incompatible objects, throws in some free associations, forming new imagery and synergies.

In her first time exhibiting in this venue, dhe has drawn inspiration from the building and her memories of her own time at school there – the squeaky doors in the basement reflecting her own subconcious. Lagoons, with their warm, still water, connected to the ocean by just thin openings, resemble the area below consciousness, which also bears only limited ties to the outer world., yet can breed a rich habitat of heretofore unseen ideas.

Large flowers, in Pallon’s paintings, become symbolic of journeys in the soulscape, poetic representations of the inner world.

Text by:Triinu Soikmets, translation by Merle Kannus
Sponsored by: Rapla Municipality, Rapla County Centre for Contemporary Art, Rapla Gymnasium

Ado Tuuga
LOGO – from Rubber Glue to AI
Opening Sept 22 at 6pm.

Ado Tuuga (b.1953) is an accomplished graphic designer who’s been working in the field since the 1990s. In this exhibition, he presents his extensive collection of logo design, spanning decades, reflecting signs of the times – changing tools of the trade, changing fashions.

Educated as an architect, Tuuga started his career in the restoration of estate buildings, followed by a new, self-studied career in graphic design. As business was booming in newly independent Estonia, demand for visual identity was high. Tuuga also won the prestigious 2nd prize at the competition to design the Estonian currency, and went on to found his own graphic design and print studio Adograaf  in 1994.  The Rapla-based studio continues to operate , managed by the author’s sons.

This exhibition celebrates Tuuga’s 70th birthday along with his 30-year-long journey in his profession. The author sees the logo as a work of art, telling the story of a business, molding its identity, and requiring creativity, passion, philosophy, spirituality, and an eye for beauty, to design.

Open 23.09.-08.10.2023  Tue – Sun 15.00 – 18.00.

Sponsored by: Adograaf OÜ, Rapla Municipality, Cultural endowment of Estonia, Rapla County Municipalities’ Development Dounda Omavalitsuste Arengufond ja Raplamaa Kaasaegse Kunsti Keskus

An exhibitin of paintings

There seem to be  no limits to human imagination – yet Nature still surpasses it every time. Red and black mountains, pink salt lakes, colourful desert sands, creatures of all shapes and sizes. All this is the inspiration to a group of painters – some  experienced, some absolute beginners.

Participants:
Maiu Albo, Mikk Allas, Mai Klemmer, Jürgen Lääne, Editha Salm, Ave Tislar, Helen Tammepuu, Eteri Tõlgo, Siret Varimõis.

Design Eteri Tõlgo

Open 13. – 28.05. 2023, between 15.00 – 18.00. Closed on Mondays.

Eili Soon / Malle Karik-Hallimäe
DAWNING
Feb. 3-26, 2023
Tue-Sun 15.00-18.00

The artists say: “We find confidence in the world we created, in the depths and reflections of coloured glass. It brings about peace, excitement, joy and new challenges. ”

Eili Soon (b. 1983) graduated from the Estonian Academy of Art and works at the Olustvere glass and ceramics studio since 2010. She is one of the most experienced glassblowers in the country.

Malle Karik-Hallimäe (b. 1959) ograduated from the Estonian Academy of Art in 1985 and has since been a freelance artist. Working in both hot and colf techniques, she creates both sculptural and utilitarian objects.

Thanks to: RCCCA, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Kairi Orgusaar, Riin Pallon, Kati Kerstna, Aivar Jalandi, Marcus Pertel.

On Friday, 11th of November at 6pm a group exhibition by Egle Ehtjen, Kelli Gedvil, Kristen Rästas and Sten Saarits ‘It’s Lonely in the Metaverse’ will be opened at Rapla County Centre for Contemporary Art. The exhibition remains open until 11th of December, Tue–Sun 3–6pm. A bus will go to the exhibition’s opening from Tallinn at 17:15 and will drive back to Tallinn at 21:00. Register for the bus by writing to kelli [dot] gedvil [at] artun [dot] ee

Four artists will create an audiovisual participatory exhibition in the hall of the Rapla County Centre for Contemporary Art, exploring the soul of the ‘metaverse’, a recently popular medium that uses various spatial and virtual reality technologies. Platforms for virtual worlds are a hot topic both in the crypto world and, increasingly, in the ‘normal world’, through ‘fear-of-missing-out’ advertising campaigns promising new social, investment and entertainment environments on the internet. Behind the exaggerated promises of the future, however, today’s meta-worlds besides their edgy commercial undertones are lonely, not that interactive, and full of digital gambling and collective tokens. ‘It’s Lonely in the Metaverse’ is the interpretation by the four artists of the significant contrast between the advertising hurricane and the virtual landscapes that fall into its shadow.
Egle Ehtjen (b. 1990) is an artist who often combines traditional media such as ink and watercolour with digital manipulation and animation. Previously more concerned with characters and narratives, she has recently been leaning towards abstraction, finding inspiration in nature, the esoteric twilight and things that are hard to put into words. Kelli Gedvil (b. 1994 Viljandi) is an artist who works mainly in installation, video and web-based medium. Her latest exhibitions “4EVER” and “Purifying Your Skin” have explored the behavioral patterns of self-presentation in various virtual communities and how they affect the physical body with emphasising the involvement of the viewer through interactiveness. Kristen Rästas (b. 1992) is an interdisciplinary artist whose work incorporates video, conceptualism, virtual reality, and mixed media sculpture. His recent projects get inspired by classical landscapes, which the artist attempts to represent through digital technologies, creating artificial natural environments that explore the connections between contemporary human alienation and possible realities reflecting escapism. Sten Saarits (b 1987) is an interdisciplinary artist who works mainly with time basedmedia. Saarits’ installation art practice, which emphasizes repetitions of themes and situations, is characterized by a drive to turn mental spaces into material landscapes to depict the states of mind, typical for the daily endeavors in a modern society, in a new form. His practice revolves around giving focus to hidden, unnoticeable or non-perceivable agencies within our environment.
ehtjen.ee, stensaarits.ee, kristenrastas.com, kelligedvil.com
Graphic design: Henri Kutsar

The artists would like to thank: Markus Tiitus, Alexei Gordin, Ian-Simon Märjama, Hendo Kidron, Leegi Kiis, Marek Gedvil, Tiina Vändre, Laura Suur, Anna-Liisa Männik, Ingrid Algma, Ingrid Kääramees, Linda Zupping, Jüri Ruut, Mirko Känd, Erko Ever, Kristjan Koskor, Anni Koskor, Katarina Koskor, Ander Koskor, Kennet Lekko, Estonian Academy of Arts

This exhibition is funded by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Location: Rapla County Centre for Contemporary Art. Tallinna st 3b (3rd floor of Espak building), Rapla.

Mara Ljutjuk

The Unforgettable Ones

March 13 – April 10, 2022

The paintings on this exhibition capture reflections of a woman’s emotions, fragments of her daily life, and her inner musings.

Mara Ljutjuk always held a deep respect for women, especially the ones who’ve played a role in her own life. They have been, for her, a source of inspiration, fascination, and surprises. She is continually amazed by their contradictory nature – a mesmerizing mixture of vitality and sensitivity. She says women are endowed with an incredible capability of being both enchantingly mysterious and determinedly resilient. They make an exciting subject for the artist by virtue of their complex and powerful inner world.

Mara Ljutjuk finds the unique beauty hidden in EVERY woman, and says this beauty blossoms fully when a woman can realize her skills, fulfil her needs, and achieve her goals. Women have also been given the greatest gift of all – the capacity to LOVE.

Some women live like a candle burning bright, some with reserved tenacity. Both have their ways of imprinting their unforgettable mark on those they share their journey with, of bringing something singularly original into the world.

CV

Mara Ljutjuk was born in 1978 in Tallinn. She graduated from the EAA painting department in 2001, and studied there for her M.A in education sciences. She further studied at the Valencia Universidad Politechnica in 2007. She’s a member of the Estonian Artists’ Association and the Estonian Painter Association since 2006.  She’s participated in numerous group exhibitions since 2000, and had her first solo exhibition in 2004.  Besides painting, she has been curating and designing exhibitions and events, including her grandfather Evald Okas’ Museum programme, and the festival “I Don’t Understand” at the Telliskivi Creative City in Tallinn. She was awarded the Gallery G Art Prize in 2019, and was nominated for the Konrad Mägi Art Prize in 2020.

Mara is a mother of three children (2009, 2012, 2015). She lives and works in Tallinn. Her paintings are simple in their form and narrative in their content, while offering something for each viewer to identify with. Her motives might appear familiar because of their connection to aspects of our surroundings, relationships and nuances of life. With a sensitive touch, she captures fleeting moments, fragments of life, scenes that speak either directly or metaphorically about our daily, cyclical wanderings.

Rapla County Centre for Contemporary Art
Jan 29 – Feb 27, 2022
Tue – Sun 3pm – 6pm
Tallinna mnt. 3b, Rapla

The UN has declared 2022 the Year of Glass: https://www.iyog2022.org/
To celebrate this undertaking, the Rapla County Centre for Contemporary Art launches its annual programme by proudly presenting a brand new exhibition of glass installations. Kati Kerstna’s “Accessories” applies glass and illumination in order to – literally – shed light on environmental issues.

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We regard our surroundings as accessories; whenever something gets lost or broken, we just exclaim “Oh s#!t, not again…” then shrug and go shopping for the next umbrella, handbag, shawl, or pair of gloves. Yet, no shopping trip can replace a species that’s gone extinct, and it takes decades – or centuries – to grow another full-fledged, functioning habitat.

Here, I present three new installations, made specially for the exhibition:

“Down” is a metaphor for our situation within the modern world and the ongoing climate crisis – a situation each of us might not even fully comprehend.
“Values” I and II turn the spotlight on biodiversity; I’m hoping to draw attention to, but also to evoke pride and joy in, our local, endangered, yet still fairly well-preserved natural riches.
“Agreement. Once, in Paris” expresses the importance of reaching agreements, and the inevitability of keeping one’s promises.

The installation “Agreement. Once, in Paris” was awarded the IRMA Collaborative grant for 2021.
https://www.irmacollaborative.com/post/irma-collaborative-annual-grant-recipient-2021

Why glass? For me, glass – with its transparency and reflections, its play of light, can add a touch of magic to even difficult topics, impart them with a kind of visual poetry, thereby hopefully sparking curiosity and caring instead of apathy; bringing about goodwill and a wish to participate. In today’s context, I dare even say – glass could give us an incentive to move with the times.

Kati Kerstna

avaleht

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Kati Kerstna represents the voice of environmentalism among Estonan glass artists – raising the question of whether it’s possible to be simultaneously an environmentalist and an artist working with an energy-intensive material such as glass. Solutions she’s come up with include using recycled glass, relying predominantly on cold techniques such as engraving and cutting, building wood-heated glass furnaces for which even the clay for the bricks is sourced locally, incorporation of non-permanent materials such as papier-mache, ashes and soot, as well as later repurposing her artworks as materials for new creations, but also for greenhouses and plant support – but also directly dedicating her works to topics such as pollution, deforestation, and global warming . She utilizes electronics and mechanical devices to create kinetic sculptures. Light always plays an essential part in her own installations, but also when she’s designing an exhibition with other participants.
She is known as an organiser and designer of numerous exhibitions home and abroad (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Germany, Russia) and also as a long-time organiser of the Haapsalu hot glass symposia.

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The Exhibition is supported by: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, IRMA Collaborative,
EKDesign, the Rapla County Centre for Contemporary Art.

Special thanks to: Toomas Kukk (magazine “Estonian Nature”), Inguna Audere ja Michael Rogers (IRMA Collaborative), Merle ja Erki Kannus (EKDesign), Kairi Orgusaar (the Rapla County Centre for Contemporary Art)