The last exhibition of the year at Kogo Gallery, based in Tartu, Estonia is Abstract Garden, a solo show of Tanja Muravskaja, an Estonian photo, video and installation artist. In the current polarised society, the artist, who is known for her earlier political and social treatments, turns to abstract and universal themes. The exhibition will remain open until 22 January 2022.
With the Kogo Gallery exhibition Abstract Garden, the artist Tanja Muravskaja attempts to expand on the installation side of her work, so she has replaced the political and social debates of her earlier works with universal humanist themes.
Tanja Muravskaja has exploited the symbolically rich metaphor of a garden also in earlier shows, such as Garden Exile. The Tuglas Home Garden Through Tanja Muravskaja’s Camera Lens (Kumu Art Museum, 2019). At the Kogo Gallery exhibition, the image of a garden does not refer to a specific place but is embodied by a highly abstract environment created by the artist. Her installation, consisting of abstract nature photos, video projections and spots of light and colour, serves as an allegory of the garden as a refuge. The author tries to escape literalness in order to focus on photography as such. Thus, the exhibition also highlights the value of photography; for the author, photography is a safe haven in which it is possible to directly experience art and reality, and which serves as a powerful source for ideas. The artist’s desire is to share this special place with us, the viewers.
Tanja Muravskaja’s (1978) works deal with identity and memory, as well as with the relationships between society and its members. She develops her approaches to photography and its specifics as a medium into installations, which aspire to become total environments. She studied photography at the Estonian Academy of Arts (2002–2010) and at the University of Westminster (2004–2005), and also journalism at Tallinn University before that. Her works are represented in the collections of the Art Museum of Estonia and the Tartu Art Museum. Among other recognitions, Muravskaja was awarded the Köler Prize Grand Prix of the Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia (2018). Muravskaja’s most recent projects include Three Sisters: Tanja Muravskaja (Tensta Konsthall, 2019), Viral Self-Portraits. Online Exhibition (Moderna galerija (MG+MSUM), 2020), and Alina Bliumis and Tanja Muravskaja. Narrating Against the Grain (Tallinn Art Hall Gallery, 2020).
Abstract Garden is open from 12 November 2021 until 22 January 2022. Kogo Gallery is located in Tartu, in Aparaaditehas district, at 42 Kastani Street. It is open Wed to Fri, 13.00–19.00, and Sat, 13.00–18.00. The exhibition is part of the Kogo Gallery’s this year’s exhibition and public programme titled Ecology – Economics.
Exhibition text by Elnara Taidre.
Exhibition graphic design by Aleksandra Samulenkova.
Our thanks go to: Elnara, Anna, Vladimir, the Estonian Academy of Arts, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, and Artproof Tallinn.
The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and the City of Tartu.
Kogo Gallery is a contemporary art gallery founded in Tartu in 2018. Kogo’s aim is to showcase the works of younger generation artists in Estonia and abroad. Artists linked to the gallery are Alexei Gordin, Eike Eplik, Mari-Leen Kiipli, Kristi Kongi, Eva Mustonen and Elīna Vītola.
Tanja Muravskaja
Abstract Garden
12.11.2021.–22.01.2022
Kogo Gallery
Photography: Tanja Muravskaja
