triennial Archives – Page 2 of 3 – Tallinna rakenduskunsti triennaal

Tomorrow, on 29 May the international applied art exhibition “Translucency” opens at Kai Art Centre. The main exhibition of the 8th Tallinn Applied Art Triennial is open throughout the summer and is accompanied by an extensive satellite programme with many of the exhibitions opening tonight.

The main exhibition is open until 15 August and focuses on the phenomenon of translucency. Depending on the context, translucency can reveal what is hidden or conceal what is seemingly visible.

“As the theme suggests, the exhibition includes works that play with the optic phenomenon but also those that look at translucency in the context of social behaviour, politics and relationships,” says Merle Kasonen, the chairwoman of the triennial. “Applied artists often focus on specific materials but they also work conceptually. In this exhibition, the conceptual approach is perhaps even more significant than functional qualities.”

Curator Stine Bidstrup. Photo: Hedi Jaansoo

The exhibition “Translucency” is curated by the Danish glass artist and art historian Stine Bidstrup. The 21 artists selected by Bidstrup are presenting new and recent works. The selected works are characterised by playfulness, willingness to experiment and a strong conceptual approach,” says the curator Stin Bidstrup. “The works look at presence and absence, the private and the public, individuality and collectiveness, time and temporality, politics and language, material decay and structural defects.”

Alongside the main exhibition the triennial also has an extensive satellite programme that includes jewellery and glass art, site specific installations and events involving various fields of art. For example, today Tanel Veenre opens his solo exhibition “Organ” at Temnikova & Kasela gallery and Kadri Mälk, Julia Maria Künnap and Kai Koppel present their exhibition “Holy Vessel” at Laboratooriumi street 33. A-gallery invites visitors to Ilona Treiman’s solo show “Fire” in their vault space.

At Okapi gallery, Rait Prääts and Gleb Divov bring together glass art and augmented reality and at the Manufactory Quarter design and applied art students from the Estonian Academy of Arts open a group show titled “Phantasmagoria”, showcasing jewellery, metalwork, ceramics and glass.

The exhibition “Translucency” at Kai Art Center (Peetri 12, Noblessner Quarter) is open from 29 May to 15 August, Wednesday to Sunday, from 12–19.

This Saturday, on 29 May at 13.00 the curator will be giving a tour of the show (in English). Previous registration is required. Register here. An Estonian-language guided tour with the curator’s assistant Keiu Krikmann will take place next Saturday, on 5 June at 13.00.

Participating artists: Linda Aasaru (Estonia), Andrew Bearnot (USA), Erin Dickson (UK), Ditte Hammerstrøm (Denmark), Heidi Bach Hentze (Denmark), Sandra Kosorotova (Estonia), Eeva Käsper (Estonia), Julia Maria Künnap (Estonia), Helen Lee (USA), Jiyong Lee (USA), Eve Margus-Villems (Estonia), Reinoud Oudshoorn (Netherlands), Julija Pociute (Lithuania), Helena Tuudelepp (Estonia), Sandra Vaka (Norway), Hanna-Maria Vanaküla (Estonia), Sissi Westerberg (Sweden), Karlyn Sutherland (UK), Grethe Sørensen (Denmark) and Wang & Söderström (Sweden/Denmark).

Tallinn Applied Art Triennial is organised by NGO Tallinn Applied Art Triennial Society.

Anu Almik

The graphic design for the 8th Tallinn Applied Art Triennial was created by Marje and Martin Eelma from the design studio Tuumik Stuudio. Their design blurs the boundaries between materials and environments and features fragments of exhibited artworks.

What were some of your first associations with the theme of the triennial, translucency?
Layers, steam, water. Diving into other materials. Or perhaps even parallel worlds that haunt you after reading a book or watching a film, worlds that are inside or layered on top of one another or as a grid. In order to evoke translucency you need more than one environment and these environments need to come into contact with one another, yet still remain separate. When they blend, translucency is lost.

What did you start the design process with?
The exhibition concept of the curator Stine Bidstrup and our initial conversations with the exhibition designer Kärt Maran led us to think about water as material and a surface of reflection. These ideas became the basis for the design. We also thought about the location of the exhibition, Kai Art Center just by the sea, and this, too, contributed to the further development of these ideas. Water is transparent matter, completely different from air. In places where water and air meet, light makes possible situations, where water is both transparent and reflects back into our world. Water can be quite dynamic, which results in dynamic images. Water or other liquids can also have a hue to them yet still be transparent to great depths.

The design also uses photos of artworks we will see at the exhibition.
We included artworks in the conversations about the design early in the process and that remained an important element, so we had to make these layers complement one another. On the one hand, a fluid and reflective surface layer that was expressed as a fluid and steamy typeface and beneath that, selected works or details of artworks. To conclude, the design was created in collaboration with the triennial’s team – we were discussing several directions that were more or less focused on the same theme but using various graphic elements. Finally, the design that expressed a common understanding of the theme the clearest was chosen. Reflections of water are not so clearly visible anymore, however, the steamy translucent typeface still evokes undulating water.

Could you talk about how you chose the four photos featured in the design?
First, we looked if the photos fit with our chosen typeface, the steamy and fluid typography had to be visible against the background. Not all photos supported that. In the end, we chose photos that worked best with the typeface.

The graphic design of the triennial features the following artworks: Wang & Söderström “Flatscreen“, Sandra Vaka “Jugs (bitter lemon)“, Eeva Käsper “Enclosed Secret” and Grethe Sørensen “Lillebælt III“.

Anu Almik

The curator Stine Bidstrup has selected artists for the main exhibition of the 8th Tallinn Applied Art Triennial. 24 artists from the Nordic countries, the USA, the UK, the Netherlands, Estonia and Lithuania will be addressing the phenomenon of translucency, the main theme of the 8th Triennial. The selection includes seven Estonian artists.

Danish glass artist, art historian and educator Stine Bidstrup says the selected artists and designers represent some of the best practitioners within their fields with work characterized by strong conceptual exploration, playfulness and willingness to experiment. “The Triennial will showcase new and recent works that are created and exist across intersections between fine art, craft and design making these distinctions less important,” added the curator Stine Bidstrup.

“The curatorial theme of translucency is exemplified in a myriad ways through the work of the artists; translucency as a phenomenon, as an intermediate space inhabiting the space between the polar opposites of transparency and opacity, translucency in the use of language, in politics, creating ambiguity and complexity,” described Bidstrup her approach.

The exhibition will feature various fields, techniques and materials: glass, ceramics, clay, textile, garments, photography, sculpture, installation, jewellery, weaving, video, furniture, 3D-printing and digital design.

The Triennial’s main exhibition features the following artists from Estonia: Linda Aasaru, Eeva Käsper, Sandra Kosorotova, Julia Maria Künnap, Eve Margus-Villems, Helena Tuudelepp and Hanna-Maria Vanaküla.

Other participating artists include (in alphabetical order): Andrew Bearnot (USA), Phoebe Cummings (UK), Erin Dickson (UK), Ditte Hammerstrøm (Denmark), Heidi Bach Hentze (Denmark), Helen Lee (USA), Jiyong Lee (USA), Shari Mendelson (USA), Reinoud Oudshoorn (Netherlands), Julija Pociute (Lithuania), Anne Vibeke Mou (Denmark/UK), Sandra Vaka (Norway), Sissi Westerberg (Sweden), Karlyn Sutherland (UK), Grethe Sørensen (Denmark) and Wang & Söderström (Sweden/Denmark).

The main exhibition of the 8th Tallinn Applied Art Triennial “Translucency” opens at Kai Art Center in Port Noblessner in Tallinn (Estonia) on 28 May 2021 and welcomes visitors until 15 August 2021.

Tallinn Applied Art Triennial is an international art event established in 1997, organised by NGO Tallinn Applied Art Triennial Society. The Triennial contributes to the development of fields of applied art and contemporary craft.

Anu Almik

The next Tallinn Applied Art Triennial will be curated by Stine Bidstrup, a Danish glass artist and art historian, whose curatorial concept focuses on the phenomenon of translucency both in contemporary craft and in a broader social context. The 8th Tallinn Applied Art Triennial opens at Kai Art Center on 28 May 2021.

The main exhibition of the triennial titled “Translucency” is built around Stine Bidstrup’s curatorial concept and features around twenty artists. A quarter of the participating artists will be selected among Estonian artists during curatorial visits to Estonia in summer 2020.

Merle Kasonen, the chairwoman of the triennial, highlighted the curatorial concept’s resonance in various fields of applied art as well as its broader implications in the contemporary world. “As Stine pointed out, depending on the context, translucency can reveal what is hidden or conceal what is seemingly visible,” added Merle Kasonen.

For example, the curator expanded on how wide use and promotion of glass (and transparency) indicates power and economic surplus, but when transparency is proclaimed as a sign of openness in architecture or politics or elsewhere, it is more often than not a sign of opacity, of not being able to see what is really going on. Looking in and looking out do not take place on equal grounds – transparency on the surface can, in fact, hide hermetic power structures and hierarchies. However, opacity, too, can be of value and at times, truly necessary,” explains Stine Bidstrup, whose curatorial concept centres what is in-between the two extremities – translucency.

Stine Bidstrup is a Danish glass artist, educator and art historian whose work and research explores optical phenomena, and interprets and brings ideas about utopian, architectural visions to life through glass sculptures, installation and video. Her curiosity revolves around the power of perception and power of context and point of view in constructing our understanding through vision and how the human eye and mind are always engaged in myriad determinations and negotiations.

Bidstrup holds art degrees from The Rhode Island School of Design and The Royal Danish Academy of Art School of Design and a degree in art history from The University of Copenhagen. She has taught in Denmark and internationally. She maintains a studio in Copenhagen, goes to Småland Sweden to blow glass, and is represented by Heller Gallery in New York and FUMI Gallery in London.

The 8th Tallinn Applied Art Triennial opens at Kai Art Center in Port Noblessner on 28 May 2021 and will remain open to visitors until 15 August 2021.

Tallinn Applied Art Triennial is an international art event established in 1997, organised by NGO Tallinn Applied Art Triennial Society. The triennial contributes to the development of fields of applied art and contemporary craft.

Anu Almik

The 7th Tallinn Applied Art Triennial is coming to end, the main exhibition at the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design is open until 23 July. The last exhibition of the satellite programme, “The perfect landscape. Earth, wood, fire, water”, by ceramic artist Karin Kalman is open until the beginning of August.

Karin Kalman. The perfect landscape. Photo: Tiit Rammul

The exhibition, displaying wood firing, opens on Monday, 17 July at HOP Gallery (Hobusepea 2). The artist will exhibit a collage of works burnt in different firing kilns. The emphasis is on the interplay of unglazed surfaces, the work of fire, the use of different clays together and, for contrast’ sake, interposing these with white delicate porcelain pieces. The second part of the exhibition is made up of a series of wheel-thrown porcelain cups, fired over several years in different wood or gas kilns, displaying the widely divergent results one can get while using the same glazes.

The exhibition “The perfect landscape. Earth, wood, fire, water” will be open until 1 August.

The main exhibition of the triennial “Ajavahe. Time Difference” is open to visitors until 23 July, Wed–Sun, 11–18. This Saturday, 15 July at 12.00 everyone is welcome to take part in the last guided tour, led by inventor and textile artist Kadi Pajupuu. The tour is in Estonian and about an hour long. Entry with museum ticket, which also grants access to the new permanent exhibition on the second floor of the museum.

Anu Almik

In May the satellite programme of 7th Tallinn Applied Art Triennial features five new exhibitions.

Sofia Hallik: Born-Digitals vol.2
12.05-02.06.2017, Draakon gallery (Pikk 18)
Mon-Fri 11-18, Sat 11-17

Sofia Hallik is a jewellery artist who is interested in the way суberspace and digital technology influence jewellery.

“Born-Digitals vol.2” was initially planned as a sequel of the first exhibition “Born-Digitals”, that was on show earlier this year. However, works from the first exhibition went missing, and thus the author decided to portray the essence of the lost works via their digital phantoms, namely through videos, photos, comments, screenshots that still remain in the cyberspace. Even though we may never see the pieces in their physical form, their digital imprint allows us to virtualize the material form of the jewellery.

Sandra Kossorotova: Precarious State of Mind
15.-30.05.2017, Hop gallery (Hobusepea 2)
Thu-Tue 11-18

Sandra Kossorotova is a designer and artist who’s artistic practice focuses on the relationship between socio-political powers and the human bodies.

In her solo show Precarious State of Mind the artist explores mental health as socio-political and ideological issues, rather than personal and biological problems. The show features new digitally printed textiles by Sandra Kossorotova. The fabrics were produced during her graduate placement at the Centre for Advanced Textiles at the Glasgow School of Arts.

Estonian Academy of Arts’ glass art department students: Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow. Vol 2
16.-20.05.2017, Estonian Academy of Arts’ foyer gallery (Estonia pst 7)
Mon-Sun 10-20

The second year students of the Estonian Academy of Arts’ Glass Art Department present their works, approaching the essence of the human soul in various ways – they look into desires and obsessions, reflecting back at us again and again.

Participating artists: Elvira Beljajeva, Marie Järva, Eva-Maria Mirzojeva and Gerti-Carmen Tein.

Estonian Academy of Arts’ ceramics department students: TIME Keepers
19.-31.05.2017, Jahuladu (Rotermanni 8)
Mon-Sun 10-20

What is time? Does time exist? Does it really flow? How differently do we perceive time? Is physical time objective? Time has great social importance and value. Do we perceive it as a limited resource? The second year ceramics students of Estonian Academy of Arts interpret the meaning of time.

Participating artists: Cathy Saarm, Merilin Tartes, Mariliis Kapp, Mart Vaarpuu, Joosep Pihl.

Estonian Academy of Arts’ jewellery and blacksmithing students: Observa(c)tion
19.05-04.06.2017, Russian Theatre (Vabaduse väljak 5)
Tue-Sun 14-18

The second year students of the Estonian Academy of Arts’ Jewellery and Blacksmithing Department present a multi sensory inquiry into people’s behaviour patterns and daily rituals. Is this a hidden or public observation, are we observing ourselves or others – these questions will be answered at the exhibition. The works are made of materials like iron, glass, silk, ashes, brass, precious wood, porcelain, precious stones.

Participating artists: Anastassia Nikitina, Claudia Lepik, Liisbeth Kirss, Liina Lelov, Kätlin Kokk, Veronika Ovsyannikova, Sigrid Kuusk, Ljubov Kedrina, Marilin Laas (glass artist), Kaia Ansip, Liisbet Linntamm.

Anu Almik

The Grand Prix of the 7th Tallinn Applied Art Triennial was awarded to Belgian artist Octave Vandeweghe for his series of objects “Cultured Manners”. The second place went to Villu Plink and Silja Saarepuu from Estonia and the third prize was won by Lithuanian artists Jurgita Erminaité-Šimkuvienéle.

All three prize winners clearly present the leading idea of the main exhibition, time difference. They all showcase engagement with the past, present and future; all works make visible also the geological time. The jury appreciated the quality of the craft and the merging of idea, materials and a humorous approach.

The series of utensils made of polished precious stones titled “Cultured manners” by Belgian artist Octave Vandeweghe. Photo: Liina Lelov

The series of utensils made of polished precious stones titled “Cultured manners” by Belgian artist Octave Vandeweghe verges on the lines of functionality and beauty. In the words of the jury, it brings together hi-tech and low-tech, synthetic and natural. “The work presents hints to functionality, at the same time being impractical, and it also contains tension between made and found objects,” said the international jury. In the series Ocatve Vandeweghe uses citrine, phantom quartz and verneuil sapphire.

A still frame from the video “Carpet”. Authors Villu Plink and Silja Saarepuu.

The second prize was awarded to Villu Plink and Silja Saarepuu for their video “Carpet” showing the endless process of ploughing a field into a carpet. “It is a whimsical, light hearted, grounded work with multiple layers that also brings together traditional and modern techniques and media,” remarked the jury. This work also received the Purchase Prize of the Estonian Applied Art and Design Museum, which means the video will be bought for the museum’s collection.

Jurgita Erminaité-Šimkuvienét “It’s Only a Question of Time”. Photo: author

The third award was given to Lithuanian artist Jurgita Erminaité-Šimkuvienét, whose amber flypaper is titled “It’s Only a Question of Time”. The jury observed that the essence of this usually dirt-attracting everyday object is well captured and at the time transformed into something precious. “As the amber also contains ancient insects in its bubbles, the theme of capture is bringing different time scales together into a beautiful whole,” remarked the jury.

The jury was made up of Norwegian art critic and editor André Gali, Finnish jewellery artist and manager of Fine Arts in the Saimaa University of Applied Sciences Eija Mustonen, glass artist and Assistant Professor of Sculpture in the art field group at Pitzer College (USA) Sarah Gilbert, philosopher, critic and lecturer Eik Hermann and gallerist, translator and writer Keiu Krikmann from Estonia.

The grand prix included an award fund of 2500€, the second and third prize respectively 1500€ and 1000€.

The main exhibition of 7th Tallinn Applied Art Triennial “Ajavahe. Time Difference” at the Estonian Museum Applied Art and Design (Lai 17, Tallinn) is open until 23 July. The museum is open from Wednesday to Sunday, 11–18, closed on Monday and Tuesday and Estonian national holidays.

Anu Almik

The main exhibition of the 7th Tallinn Applied Art Triennial will be opened in the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design this Friday, 21 April. The opening weekend of the triennial will include guided tours at the main exhibition, but also artist talks. Prior to the opening of the main exhibition everyone is invited to take part in the seminar and extensive satellite programme.

The thematic main exhibition of the 7th Tallinn Applied Art Triennial features artists from Nordic countries, Central Europe, United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Israel, but also China, Taiwan, USA and Canada. Their artworks reflecting on the concept of time were chosen to the exhibition out of 256 works submitted to the open call. The exhibition includes ceramics, jewellery, glass, textile and blacksmithing, but also video and large-scale installations.

It is also possible to visit the main exhibition in the Estonian Applied Art and Design Museum (Lai 17) with a tour guide. The first guided tours will take place on Saturday, 22 April at 11.00 (in Estonian) and at 16.00 (in English) and on Sunday, 23 April (in Russian). To participate in the guided tour museum ticket is required; the duration of the tour is approximately an hour.

On Saturday, 22 April everyone is welcome to meet the artists taking part of the main exhibition. From 12.00–15.00 the artists will be giving presentations at the Loewenschede tower (Kooli 7).

In addition to the main exhibition the triennial features an extensive satellite programme. This week alone will include 10 solo and group exhibition openings, as well as sound and participatory installations, a glass art project taking place in various cafés in Tallinn, a seminar on art mediation and many other events. To get more information on the opening weekend programme, see here.

Anu Almik

With the aim of improving the visibility of applied art and design, a seminar “Modes of mediating applied art and design” will take place on the day of the opening of the triennial, 21 April. Everyone interested is welcome to pre-register!

Bringing together artists, critics, curators and communications professionals and other esteemed experts, the seminar seeks an answer to the question of how to mediate applied art to a wider public, offer relevant feedback to artists and raise the overall design literacy in society.

The presenters include André Gali, a Norwegian art critic and editor (Norwegian Crafts Magazine), Sarah Gilbert, a glass artists and educator from United States, Karin Paulus, an Estonian critic and journalist, Liz Farrelly, a critic, editor, curator and educator from United Kingdom and Hanna Kapanen, a curator of educational programmes from Finland.

The registration form and more information about the seminar can be found here.

Anu Almik

The full programme of the 7th Tallinn Applied Art Triennial is now made public. In addition to the main exhibition, it includes a seminar on communicating applied art, an extensive satellite programme, artists’ talks and guided tours.

The main exhibition of the triennial, titled “Ajavahe. Time Difference” opens on 21 April at the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design and will remain open until 23 July. The exhibition includes 49 works by artists from 19 countries. These works were chosen out of 256 open call submissions by an international jury. The selection features ceramics, jewellery, glass, textile, blacksmithing, but also video and large-scale installations.

The opening day of the triennial, 21 April will start with a seminar dedicated to discussing communication in the field of applied art, taking place in Cinema Sõprus. The registration for the seminar is now open. The audience is also welcome to join our artists’ presentations event and guided tours.

The satellite programme consists of 26 exhibitions, performances and installations that take place in galleries, cafés, open studios and other exciting locations all over Tallinn. The satellite programme launches already in the end of March and will run until the beginning of August.

The goal of the 7th Tallinn Applied Art Triennial is to contribute to the development of concept-based applied art and design and introduce it to a broader audience.

Anu Almik

Newer Posts

Older Posts

Search

Applied art takes hold of Tallinn

Graphic design of the Tallinn Applied Art Triennial: boundaries, layers, separations

Announcing artist selection for the 8th Tallinn Applied Art Triennial

Announcing curator and theme for the 8th Tallinn Applied Art Triennial

Last week to go

New exhibitions in May

The winner of the Grand Prix brings together notions of beauty and utility

Tallinn will be flooded with applied art

Register to seminar discussing mediation of applied art and design

Triennial’s full programme is now public