The artists Jaanus Samma & Hansel Tai are in the focus of loving hands. Both have been on the curator’s radar for several years, as their works have evoked strong emotions. The exhibition features works that combine different mediums, but primarily showcase installations and jewellery.
The exhibition is a tribuute to two artists whose care and sensitivity towards the themes they choose have left an exceptional impression on the curator. In doing so, the curator embraces the artists in a warm embrace and seeks to showcase their Works at their best. The selected works have been previously exhibited at both the Temnikova & Kasela Gallery and the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) Gallery in New York. However, as a tandem, new aspects of their work are brought to light. The combination of selected artists has come to the curator very intuitively. Škerin says: “There is a sense of recognition and hesitation – depending on how it appears on different days, but when the feeling stemming from the initial impulse is at the forefront, everything feels so familiarly warm and in place.“
The selected works for the exhibition create a space that invites visitors to explore without giving too many instructions on how to move around the space, what to feel or what to think about what is being seen. A result has been achieved that is closest to the ideal vision of the curator at this moment, where current topics, skilled execution, innovative ideas and continuous movement come together.
Jaanus Samma (b. 1982) is a multidisciplinary artist who has sought answers from the past in his work, offering alternative interpretations and readings of historical events, concepts and objects. His wide-ranging creation includes works from installations to knitwear designs.
Samma graduated from the Department of Fine Arts (MA) of the Estonian Academy of Arts. He has won the 2013 Köler Prize Grand Prix and the Public’s Choice Award. In 2016 he was the laureate of Kristjan Raud Art Prize. Samma’s works are included in the collections of the Art Museum of Estonia, Tartu Art Museum, Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design, Kiasma and the Aine Art Museum.
https://www.jaanussamma.eu/
Hansel Tai (b. 1994) is a jewellery artist and designer whose work focuses on post-internet era, where naturalism is overshadowed by body cult, deformation, subcultural signs and high-gloss metal. The challenging part of being a cybersmith is figuring out how to present and materialize something virtual.
After his studies in China, Hansel Tai graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts in jewellery and blacksmithing (MA) with cum laude. He is the winner of the 2019 Barcelona Enjoia’t MISUI award. His works are in the permanent collection of the Arnhem Museum and the Apeldoorn CODA museums in the Netherlands.
https://hanseltai.com/
The exhibition will be open until 2 July 2023.
Curated by Mari Škerin
Graphic Design: Henri Kutsar
Gallery wishes to thank: Siim Asmer, Indrek Kits, Jaan Škerin, Lauri Kütt, Merle Nisuma
The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.
Additional information:
Mari Škerin / gallerist
mariskerin@gmail.com
+372 53449447
https://facebook.com/vanavoromaakultuurikoda/
https://instagram.com/vanavoromaakultuurikoda/
Vana-Võromaa Museum and Art Gallery
Katariina allee 11, Võru, 65608
Wed – Sun 10am – 6pm
