The seed of the EX POST exhibition began to germinate when Tanel’s father, a musician and hobby restorer, offered his son the whistles of an unfinished organ. Initially, some whistles found their way to Veenre’s solo exhibition “Organ” at the Temnikova & Kasela gallery in the early summer of 2021, where the artist exhibited his dark jewellery series. But the whistles remained, and that’s how Tanel started playing with wood – slicing, sanding, gluing. Tanel also involved his father in the process, who gave the last touch to the wood, and thus the exhibition works were born together.
“I create out of inevitability, inner burning, the desire to get in touch with being. That’s why my exhibitions mostly consist of rather jumpy traces that I’ve left in the twilight of the studio over the last few years. It’s important for me to be in the moment, to enjoy my artistic freedom” – Tanel Veenre
The opening of the exhibition was a nice bustle and at peak hour not even everyone could fit in the gallery...
Thanks to gallerist Anna Mari Liivranna and the A-gallery family.
The army of whistles, otherwise hidden in the organ cabinet, opens up in the exhibition, which is spread out and made visible in two gallery spaces – the A-Gallery and the Draakon Gallery are located a few steps away from each other. In addition to jewellery, for the first time, Veenre has also created jewellery for space. The exhibition features sound objects and a space installation of a flying organ.
The miniature precious works on display in A-Gallery seem like a crystalline echo of the large works presented in Draakon Gallery.
Getting rid of noise and achieving clarity of thought is important for Tanel. In the case of all exhibition works, the main material is a wooden organ sheet, next to which a little engraved stone and precious metal are used.
“I have never been so minimalist before, but at the same time, the organ leaf as a symbol gave me a powerful arsenal of meanings. Sound became the invisible inevitability of the exhibition – the wooden glow of the organ. If jewellery is considered “wearable art”, it would be more accurate to use the expression “wearable sounds” for the jewellery of this series. Each whistle has a unique timbre and sound that I tried to preserve. The sound would be created by a person’s breath. The more than 100-year-old instrument from the Keila parsonage probably reached the end station and got a new life. One organism (organ) is dispersed into fragments, each of which has its own being.” – Tanel Veenre
The exhibition, which takes place in two rooms, will be on display in Draakon Gallery (Pikk 18, Tallinn) until April 29 and in A-Gallery (Pikk 27, Tallinn) until May 6. On April 22 at 15:00, there will also be an artist talk with Tanel Veenre in A-Gallery, followed by an exhibition tour with the author. Exhibitions and artist talks are free.
