On Friday, 11 October at 5 p.m. this year’s laureate of the Hotel Pallas painting scholarship, Mari Frühling, will open her solo exhibition “Shared Space” in the small gallery of the Tartu Art House.
The oil paintings in the exhibition are inspired by the desire to live in a more balanced society in which we can show empathy for species that do not communicate in a human language, but with whom we share space.
Frühling’s paintings are like spaces full of air and silence, allowing you to think about your relationship with yourself and others. By juxtaposing a woman and a chicken on the same canvas, the artist symbolically places herself in the same space with a creature about which she is ignorant. She thinks that this is important, because if injustice towards other species were reduced, it would naturally also be reduced in interactions within the human species.
With her exhibition, Mari Frühling reflects on the theme set by the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024: The Arts of Survival. “One prerequisite for survival is the ability to share space with those we do not understand. The paintings are a metaphor for the human intellectual culture, because our everyday use of language also shapes beliefs about other people and other species,” the artist explains.
Mari Frühling (b 1984) studies painting at the Pallas University of Applied Sciences. In 2024, she was awarded a painting scholarship by the Hotel Pallas.
The Hotel Pallas painting scholarship was founded by the Cultural Endowment of Tartu, the Hotel Pallas and the Pallas University of Applied Sciences in collaboration with the Tartu Artists’ Union to support the development of painting and the creative output of students. The scholarship is awarded to a single student or a group of at most three students. In addition to 1000 euros, an exhibition at the Tartu Art House is arranged for the winner(s). Previously the scholarship has been awarded to Mia Melanie Saar, Maris Paal, Caroliina Luhamets and Hedi Kuhi.
The artist thanks: the Pallas University of Applied Sciences, Hotel Pallas, members of the scholarship committee, the Tartu Art House, Kaspar Tamsalu and Mati Foods.
Audience programme
On Friday, 8 November at 18.30 there will be a talk with the artist, moderated by the human and animal rights activist Kadri Sikk. The discussion will focus on the possible links between feminism and veganism, as it is these social justice movements that have inspired the creation of the painting series.
The exhibition will be open until November 10. The Tartu Art House (Vanemuise 26) is open Wed-Mon 12.00–18.00. All exhibitions are free of charge.
The exhibition activities in the Tartu Art House are supported by the Tartu city government and the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.
Additional information: Maret Tamme, Producer of the Tartu Art House, produtsent@kunstimaja.ee, +372 5800 3882, www.kunstimaja.ee.