Starting May 1st, the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design presents the exhibition “Between Borders, Between Materials”, featuring works by 44 artists whose approach to materials is often surprising – even extreme. The exhibition is curated by Ingrid Allik and Karin Paulus. The exhibition is open until September 21.
The boundaries between artistic spheres and materials have grown blurry. Rather than working within the limits of a single medium, artists are now moving more and more freely between disciplines and materials. They employ a range of approaches with ease, inhabiting a hybrid multiplicity that they experience as a whole. At times, their method resembles a kind of micro-language spoken by only a few. This exhibition presents precisely such transmaterial richness.
At its heart are artists whose engagement with materials is often unexpected or, at times, even extreme. Their relationship with material is close and reciprocal, a form of collaboration influenced by the physical and chemical properties of the material itself, as well as by natural forces that emerge in the process of creation. The artist’s ego must make room for the material’s ego: its temperament, preferred states and modes of working, which it imposes, in turn, on the artist.
In the works presented, the material’s character is allowed to come to the fore. This may seem ordinary or even dull. Yet what we witness is a bold, inquisitive engagement with the material, leading to a distinctive abstraction. These works are only incidentally functional. While one object or another could indeed be worn as a brooch or used as a vase or a knife, they primarily offer the experience of encountering art.
The exhibition brings together works by contemporary artists – some perhaps even foreshadowing near-future tendencies – and pieces from the 1970s and 1980s that appear to speak the same language. Is this a form of artistic clairvoyance, or is the nature of material simply so powerful that it inevitably demands a voice in art?
This kind of practice can sometimes feel murky, hard to define and lacking in clear boundaries. But it captures the psyche of our time: searching, restless and in pursuit of authenticity.
Participating artists: Linda al-Assi, Eike Eplik, Leesi Erm, Juss Heinsalu, Nils Hint, Elo-Reet Järv, Karin Kalman, Elle Kannike, Erki Kannus, Kai Koppel, Keiu Koppel, Helene Kuma, Triin Kukk, Eeva Käsper, Kaisa Laas, Kristiina Laurits, Mari Lemet, Ivo Lill, Anna Mari Liivrand, Sille Luiga, Eva Mustonen, Eino Mäelt, Maarja Mäemets, Arseni Mölder, Kärt Ojavee, Kristi Paap, Ingrid Helena Pajo, Kadi Pajupuu, Minni Patune, Katrin Pere, Marilyn Piirsalu, Darja Popolitova, Laura Põld, Leo Rohlin, Mari Rääk, Hannah Segerkrantz, Annika Teder, Taavi Teevet, Helena Tuudelepp, Johanna Ulfsak, Kristiina Uslar, Maria Valdma-Härm, Helle Videvik.
Photos: Tõnu Tunnel
