Four galleries and artist-run initiatives representing Estonian artists in Brussels

From April 19th to 23rd Brussels will host several art fairs such as Independent, Poppositions, and Art Brussels, with four galleries and artist-run initiatives that represent Estonian artists participating, including Temnikova & Kasela, the Union of Photography Artists (Foku), Rundum, and Budapest-based Ani Molnár.

 

The second edition of Independent art fair opens with a preview on Wednesday, April 19th in the Vanderborght building. A dealer-led fair with a strong reputation, Independent was founded in New York in 2010 by Elisabeth Dee and Darren Flook. Joining the fair for the first time, Temnikova & Kasela gallery will feature works by Kaido Ole and Oleg Frolov, who share a common taste for the comic, irreverent, and the absurd.

 

Also opening on Wednesday, April 19th is the sixth edition of the experimental Poppositions art fair, which will gather 21 galleries, initiatives, and project spaces at the ING Art Centre. Assembled by Dutch curator Niekolaas Johannes Lekkerkerk around the principle of “Don’t Agonize, Organize!,” Poppositions seeks to reinvent political imagination by proposing diverse forms of opposition. Kristina Õllek of the artist-run project space Rundum will exhibit a site- and context-specific installation, continuing her earlier installation series titled “WHEN YOU HAVE THE OBJECT ITSELF IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES” (2016), which has already also won her the Young Artist Prize awarded by the Estonian Academy of Arts. Paul Kuimet, represented by the Union of Photography Artists (Foku), will feature a 16mm film projection titled “Exposure” along with his installation “Grid Study,” which have both been recently exhibited at the artist’s solo show “Perpendicular” at the Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia (EKKM). Paul’s solo presentation at Poppositions will be accompanied by a publication from Lugemik, which includes texts by literary scholar Jaak Tomberg and curator Chris Sharp.

 

Thursday, April 20th will see the opening of the 35th edition of Art Brussels art fair at Tour & Taxis warehouses. Budapest-based Ani Molnár gallery will be exhibiting Estonian artist Dénes Farkas’s series of photographs related to the theme of his solo show to open the following day, on April 21st at the Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia (EKKM).

 

ECADC-coordinated events in Brussels are part of the program marking Estonia’s upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the centenary of Estonia’s independence.

 

Art Brussels, Independent, and Poppositions art fairs will remain open to the public until Sunday, April 23rd.

 

Generous support has been provided by the Government Office of Estonia and European Regional Development Fund.

 

 

Kristina Õllek, ‘WHEN YOU HAVE THE OBJECT ITSELF IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES’, 2016. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Konstanet