Eike Eplik, Ilu Salong, 2017. Detail installatsioonist. Foto: Alan Proosa
The exhibition of Eike Eplik and Imat Suumann in the Tallinn Art Hall Gallery melds together works by artists from two different generations into a joint environment where gloomy urban landscapes meet jitter-inducing personal mythology.
Imat Suumann’s urban landscapes and collages and Eike Eplik’s natural forms and fairytale creatures create an ambiance that is both intimate and menacing. It is like a twilit city where the light on the next corner can be both encouraging and ominous. “Twilight contains something harrowing. It reminds me of the lower geological strata and medieval Tartu. Looking across the River Emajõgi towards dusk while you remain in the shadows. That’s when it feels oppressive. It is somewhat painful but also very historic.” – Imat Suumann.
At first glance, Eplik and Suumann seem like an incompatible pairing: One is a young and energetic author who freely uses the language of contemporary art and whose works fit snugly into our surrounding hyperbolic world of memes and mass culture. The other is an archetypical painter from Tartu who follows the traditions of the Pallas art school and whose aesthetic views and the tonality of his works seem to come from some earlier era. This, however, does not prevent them from creating a joint space and contents that Eike Eplik describes as follows: “At the exhibition, Imat has a city, some buildings and some landscapes: surroundings. In a way, the works that I use to fill them are like props and details. There are different things in a city or on the streets. Imat’s paintings don’t exclude anything that I could make. The outcome will be a logical combination.”
Eike Eplik (b 1982) studied sculpture in 2002–2007 at the Tartu Art College and in 2007–2010 at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Since 2010 she has had various personal exhibitions in Tallinn and in Tartu. In 2012, she was awarded the young artist production award KUKU NUNNU by the contemporary art festival ART IST KUKU NU UT.
Imat Suumann (b 1964) studied in 1988–1995 in the Painting Department of the University of Tartu. Of his more than thirty personal exhibitions, most have taken place in Estonia and mainly in Tartu. Of these, one of the most important was his 2014 anniversary exhibition in the Tartu Art House, for which he was named author of the year by the Cultural Awards of Tartu. Among other forms of recognition, he has received the Ado Vabbe prize.
Peeter Talvistu (b 1983) studied art history at the University of Tartu. He previously held various positions at the Tartu Art Museum, but since 2017 he has been a curator and project manager at the Tartu Artists’ Union. Of his curatorial projects, his re-creation of the 1966 seminal Elmar Kits personal exhibition was named the cultural event of the year by the Cultural Awards of Tartu. His previous project at the Tallinn Art Hall took place in 2014.
The exhibition “In the Shadow of the Twilight” was created in co-operation between the Tallinn Art Hall and the Tartu Artists’ Union. The exhibition is accompanied by a brochure.
Art Hall Gallery (Vabaduse väljak 6) is open Wednesdays to Sundays from 12 noon to 7 pm. Admission is free.
The Tallinn Art Hall Foundation is a contemporary art establishment that presents exhibitions in three galleries on the central square of Tallinn – at Tallinn Art Hall and nearby at Tallinn City Gallery and the Art Hall Gallery. Tallinn Art Hall exhibitions are installed by Valge Kuup.
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