The group exhibition White Dwarfs and All Those Beautiful Nebulas by Estonian artists Eike Eplik, Kristi Kongi, and Anna Mari Liivrand is opening on the 28th of November at 6 PM at Kim? Contemporary Art Centre (Riga, Latvia). Exhibition runs until 26 January 2025, curated by Šelda Puķīte.
A white dwarf is a former star that has collapsed into an energy-dense, Earth-size stellar object. From its outer layers, it creates a planetary nebula that erupts into colourful gas clouds, becoming a new star-forming incubator. In other words, it uses the leftovers of the old world to create a new one. The triangle dance of white dwarfs, nebulas and newly formed substances, from which life emerges, can be viewed as cosmopoetry for the cycle of life. The exhibition explores this process of rebirth, where entropy and change are part of a new beginning, where nothing is truly lost, and nothing is truly still or in control.
The practices of Eike Eplik, Kristi Kongi and Anna Mari Liivrand do not focus on studies of cosmology, yet their observations of the world and contemplations about it mirror the processes taking place in the universe. The worlds they create constantly expand and transform, not letting themselves be identified as a single form or message. Each using their own set of skills, media and forms of artistic expression, they present visions of the world as a liquid entity in constant metamorphosis. In the exhibition, they take up a certain role play by mimicking the processes happening with white dwarfs, and by closely collaborating, they build narratives that echo each other.
The day after the opening, on 29 November at 6:00 PM, there will be an artist talk at Kim? featuring Eike Eplik, Kristi Kongi, and Anna Mari Liivrand, moderated by the exhibition curator Šelda Puķīte. The event will be held in English.
The show is part of an exhibition exchange between the two art institutions: in spring, Kogo Gallery hosted a solo exhibition all the possibilities that existed (28 March – 4 May, 2024) by Latvian artist Krista Dzudzilo, the show being co-organised by Kim?.
Production and public programme: Evita Goze, Zane Onckule, Stella Mõttus
Communication: Žanete Liekīte, Karin Kahre, Anett Pettaig
Text: Šelda Puķīte
Graphic design: Aleksandra Samulenkova
Documentation: Ansis Starks, Kristīne Madjare
Translation and language editing: Will Mawhood, Refiner Translations
Supported by the Ministry of Culture of Latvia, the Ministry of Culture of Estonia from the fund Estonian Culture Abroad, State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Riga City Council, Tartu City, Krāsu serviss, Caparol Eesti, Absolut and Valmiermuiža.
Kogo Gallery is a contemporary art gallery in Tartu, Estonia, founded in 2018. The gallery focuses on the younger generation of artists, currently representing seven artists from the Baltic countries. Kogo Gallery’s international presence includes participation in noted art fairs, such as Liste Art Fair Basel, viennacontemporary, Art Brussels, Esther New York and others; exchanging exhibitions with galleries abroad and engaging in other collaborations. Kogo also works closely with local communities by organising a diverse public programme alongside exhibitions, functioning as an internship base for students, being the initiator and co-organiser of series of extensive art events in Tartu and participating in the work of an association for art institutions in Estonia.
Eike Eplik (born 1982) is a sculptor and installation artist living in Tartu. Her formal education includes a master’s from the Sculpture Department (2010) at the Estonian Academy of Arts and a Bachelor’s from the Sculpture Department (2007) at Tartu Art College. In 2006, she was awarded the Eduard Wiiralt Stipend and in 2012 the contemporary art festival ART IST KUKU NU UT’s young artist production stipend, KUKU NUNNU. In 2015 she was nominated for the Sadolin Art Prize and in 2018 Eplik was awarded the Addo Vabbe Stipend. Eplik was one of the recipients of the national artist’s salary from 2021 to 2023, and in 2021, she was awarded the Annual Prize of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.
Kristi Kongi (born 1985) is a painter and installation artist living in Tallinn. She is an associate professor and head of the Painting Department at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Her formal education includes a Master’s from the Painting Department at the Faculty of Visual Arts (2011) at the Estonian Academy of Arts and a Bachelor’s from the Painting Department (2008) at Tartu Art College. She has been awarded the Young Artist Prize (2011), the Sadolin Art Prize (2013), the Konrad Mägi Prize (2017) and the Estonian Cultural Endowment’s annual award (2021), and was nominated for the Köler Prize in 2016. She has participated in the Casa Lü residency in Mexico City, Mexico (2023), the Dedazo residency in Carrillo Puerto, Mexico (2018), De Liceiras in Porto, Portugal (2016), and Samband Íslenkra Myndlistarmanna (SÍM) in Reykjavik, Iceland (2014).
Anna Mari Liivrand (born 1993) is a sculptor and installation artist living in Tallinn. Her formal education includes a Master’s from the Contemporary Art Department (2022) and a Bachelor’s from the Sculpture and Installation (2016) Department at the Estonian Academy of Arts. She has also studied fine arts at the Iceland University of Arts. In 2014, Liivrand received the Young Sculptor Prize. In addition to solo exhibitions, she has participated in numerous group shows, including the 7th Artishok Biennale. She was the recipient of the Eduard Wiiralt Prize in 2020 and was awarded the Estonian Cultural Endowment’s annual award (2021).
All three artists are represented by Kogo Gallery.
