Time to Dream or Fear?

How the daydreaming or fearing, success or failure affects the development of the individual and society? What does dreaming mean to you, and what is your biggest fear right now?

On Friday, June 19, starting at 6.15 pm, an auction of exhibition pieces will take place at the Kogo Gallery. We donate 20% of the auction proceeds to charities selected by the artists (see below).

See artworks!

Register for the auction!

After the auction at 8.30 pm, the concert by Lauri Sommer (Kago) takes place in front of the Kogo Gallery in the yard of the Widget Factory. Everyone is welcome!

The idea and title of the exhibition “Time to Dream or Fear?” arose in the first weeks of COVID 19 restrictions, and we immediately invited artists to think along with the subject. The exhibition consists of works by 11 artists in different media – oil and acrylic paintings, watercolours, graphics, photographs and installations.

Series of 21 watercolours “Is There Any Light And Colour Left?” by Kristi Kongi seem to form a diary of everyday observations and memories regarding light, colours and emotions, spreading to the viewer the richness and nuances of aesthetic perception. Holger Loodus found an opportunity to return to the images that had stored in his memory and analyze them in the painting medium. These images have fascinated and enchanted him. They seem to have a special secret, a window into the unknown world. Alexei Gordin once again entertains viewers with grotesque and seemingly up-to-date, but perhaps eternal paintings about the relationship between the art world, the economy and society. Kiwa creates a sound installation of microphones burned during his previous performances and three new paintings, one of which is a poem completed for a while ago, but especially suitable for the present. Eike Eplik presents a metaphorical sculpture entitled “The journey of a dream from sour grapes to sunset”. Laura Kuusk shows us domestic poetry in the photo series “Some Notes on Matter In and Around Us”, and Kadri Toom depicts the beauty and harmony hidden in the symbiosis of flora and architecture. Martiini, on the other hand, has created a series of warnings and instructions “Closed?” for public spaces with a design familiar to Tartu residents, but with distorted content. Kristel Saan used the period of slow-down as an opportunity to dream, but also to return on the earth. Latvian artists Elīna Vītola and Ieva Kraule-Kūna have sent to the Kogo Gallery the installation “Artists’ Crisis Center”, first presented at the Low Gallery in Riga in October 2019. The dialogue with Alexei Gordin’s paintings brings to the realization that the Artist Crisis Center can be a place, not only for artists but also for the audience to use the crisis and failures to strengthen the mind and the creativity.

We donate 20% of the sales revenue to charitable organizations selected by the artists (like the Estonian Food Bank, Human Rights Center, SOS Children Village and Estonian Fund for Nature).

We thank the city of Tartu and the Estonian Cultural Endowment and all Kogo collectors, art buyers and renters. Your support has made it possible to organize the activities of the gallery and also this exhibition!
We thank the drink sponsors and cooperation partners: Pühaste Brewery, street restaurant Kolm Tilli.
We thank the team of the exhibition: Urmo Teekivi (installation), Aleksandra Samulenkova (graphic design), Silver Sikk (website design), Ralph Mackenzie (website developer),  Marje Eelma (photography), Katre Salu (graphic design of for Martiisi’s artwork), Anastasia Lemberg-Lvova (videos), Margit Lõhmus and Šelda Pukite, and all participating artists.