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.