Carmen Lansberg: An unknown entity of desire

An unknown entity of desire
Carmen Lansberg
4.-16.7.12
Hobusepea Galerii, Tallinn
paintings, drawings, video


The paintings have a structure reminding of ancient woodcarvings or ritual patterns. The drawings have some kind of erotic mood, even if I can not point to exactly what does it. The video shows a summer sky and summer nature sounds. Am I drawn into a mood of ancient nature traditions? Or does the nature video rather make me want to escape from the dark basement and out into the sun?

Anne Parmasto: Personal Time

Personal Time
Anne Parmasto
25.6.-7.7.12
Draakoni Galerii, Tallinn
Abstract paintings

This exhibition shows both oil and acrylic abstract paintings with Parmasto's distinct controlled limited choice of color and form. There is a wholeness to the exhibition as such, but at the same time each painting is worth noticing. I tend to prefer the red tone paintings, somehow they seems to emit the most of love and enthusiasm. There is also one installation, which I suppose is a collage of the trays used for painting these and other paintings. The trays contains a beauty that is worth noticing, even if it usually is just thrown away. The coincidental mood that appears this way is almost perfect.  

Helve-Reet Ree: Rööm Tööst

Rööm Tööst 
Helve-Reet Ree
5.-17.7.12 Vabaduse Galerii, Tallinn
Fashion drawings

Sometimes it seems that history is circular, other times it seems linear. Both possibilities happen in fashion. Some trends return again and again, other appear once never to reappear. This is visible in the exhibition by Helve-Reet Ree, who was recently accepted into the artist union at the age of 75. The exhibition consists of some mannequins, but mainly of her drawings, with a distinct style.  

Tag vs Buff

Tags
Ephemeral interactions with the public scene



I am often amazed of the color choices made by those who paint over the tagging found around in town. It seems a deliberate act to find a color that almost matches the background, but not really, or a grey color that does not match at all. The result is grey squares that loudly announce that here has been tags.

At this wall it is amusing to see it has not only been re-tagged, but this only on the grey areas, the buffed areas. This poses the question, what do we prefer to see on public walls? Signatures or grey squares?

Mai Sööt: Tuvitaltsutaja Maria

Tuvitaltsutaja Maria
(Pigeon-tamer Maria)
Mai Sööt
15.6.-8.7.12
Linnagalerii, Tallinn
Installation and movie about Virgin Mary and doves

The gallery space is incredibly dirty, there are piles of bird droppings along the walls, and nothing else similar to visual art than some few tiny photos of a woman and some dove figures. Now how can this be at all related to the sublime and pure?


Behind a curtain a story is told. A crowd of pigeons watch the story over and over again, but you are invited to sit down and watch it together with them. The video show a performance by the artist, on the topic of how Virgin Mary became pregnant. By some traditions she was visited by the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove, connecting to her through her ear. Doves have many different symbolic meanings, being messengers of peace, but also messagers of dirt and diseases. Because of their dealings with food garbage and their droppings some call doves  flying rats. At the same time there are discussions whether Virgin Mary really was and whether she remained a virgin after becoming pregnant.



The artist wants to get to know the human being Mary. How it would be like to be impregnated by a dove, how it would be like with all accusations by others. How will you look at doves after an experience like that? Exiting from the videoroom the piles of doveshit has achieved a different meaning. I am not sure what, but the shit is not just shit anymore. 

Kirsipuu + Undusk: Eluisu

Eluisu
Tiiu Kirsipuu and Maarja Undusk
Kunstihoone Galerii, Tallinn
8.6.-1.7.12
Textile art

It is amazing how wide variety of materials sculptures can be made of. In this exhibition the materials are just as interesting as the motives. The themes of the two artists are totally different, it is the use of fabric used in clothes or furniture that connects them.

 

Tiiu Kirsipuu: Ricefields

Tiiu Kirsipuu has photographed rice fields and harvesting in South Korea and printed it on pillows. Rice fields are great photo motives, with geometrical patterns, mirroring in the water, bright colors. But most of all they provide a crucial part of the daily meal for everyone, for some the only food they get. The symbolic value is large, especially in the rice-dominated part of the world. In Europe this becomes rather a symbol of something exotic. As far as I know there are no rice fields in Estonia. The nearest parallell would be the potato, indispendable in Estonian cousine.

Tiiu Kirsipuu: Ricefields

Also the pillows may have different meaning. Pillows may be furniture, to be used to sit on. Here this is not possible, they are hung minutely in line on the wall. The pillows have become elements of decoration, maybe symbols of luxury or excess comfort. Would it be different if the prints were made on canvas or photo paper? Maybe not so much. There is a three-dimensional effect on the pillow in contrast to a flat surface. Even if it bulges, the print is still done on a flat surface. But the pillow has a reverse side, which we do not see, but know is there. 

 

Tiiu Kirsipuu: Ricefields


Maarja Undusk: Armastus Vanas Tallinnas

Maarja Undusk has chosen rather unusual themes for her leather pictures. A romantic meeting in the old town, people lost in the woods, and a silent indoor scene. There is a strange touch added by the texture of the material, that adds something that would not have been the same in a painting of the same scenes.


Maarja Undusk: Eksinud poeg

There is a story in each work. The love story is quite easy to grasp, but the forest scene called "lost boy" is more sinister. How is he lost? Lost by directions probably, but also in a relationship?


Maarja Undusk: Vaikelu vaikuse ja pimedusega

And this stillife with darkness. What does the darkness hide? You could sow together your own story based on these pictures.

Marje Taska: Pluralistic Spring Planting

Pluralistic Spring Planting
Marje Taska
Spring 2012
on the Freedom Square, Tallinn
Public art / urban farming

In this public art project barley was planted during spring, and soon it will be ripe. Maybe enough for brewing a portion of beer. It is not exactly new thinking to bring green plants into the city to soften the atmosphere. But bringing in crops is different. In such a location and such small area the effort seems pointless. The growth and ripening of the barley goes to waste, it will probably not be used for anything. But it has served another purpose, it has offered pleasure to those who noticed it.

Aapo Pukk: Portraits

Portraits
Aapo Pukk
31.5.-19.6.12
Vabaduse Galerii, Tallinn
Traditional painted portraits of important persons

Photo-realistic painted portraits of important persons like the orthodox patriarch surrounded by his church people, and the city mayor dominating his kingdom.