Kateriin Rikken’s solo exhibition “A Breath” opened in Konteiner Gallery in Telliskivi Creative City on the second Sunday of December.

The starting point for glass artist Kateriin Rikken’s solo exhibition “Sõõm” was the desire to take a break, look at what has been done and reflect on where to move forward. The artist’s soul had been filled with conflicting feelings and the joy of creation began to fade. “Shoshin” is a Japanese Zen Buddhist concept of approaching things with a beginner’s/beginner’s mindset. Shunryu Suzuki has said “If your head is empty, it is open to everything”. So the artist put aside his previous practice for a moment and pressed the “restart” button to experience the will to create for the sake of the will to create.

The exhibition features an installation using 63 green glass bottles collected from landfills, the Klubi Hall trash can, Frenchy Bistro and acquaintances. The bottles have been broken using a special method so that the fragments are not too sharp and are as similar in size and shape as possible. Found materials such as cardboard boxes and tubes, broken footballs and so on have been used as the main forms. The technique is gluing.

The artist has said: “The idea did not arise from the desire to give new life to materials. It was a desire to play without limits, to feel free, fun and creative, to be in the moment, to enjoy, to take a breath of the feeling of freedom. The train of thought started with glass, but has developed in its own way in a completely new way than in previous practice.”

Kateriin Rikken (1983) is an Estonian glass artist. She studied glass art at the Estonian Academy of Arts (BA 2005, MA 2023) and glass design at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation in Denmark, glass art department in Denmark, Bornholm Island (BA 2010). She has worked in glass studios in Sweden, Denmark and Norway and since 2010 in her own glass studio. Kateriin has also been actively involved in exhibition curation and teaches glassblowing at the Glass Art Department of the Estonian Academy of Arts. She has participated in many local and international exhibitions, and her works can be found in private and museum collections in Estonia and Denmark.

Instagram: kateriinrikkenglass

Elle Kannike and G
PolYLOGUE: DAY OF CELEBRATION
Dec 4th 2025 – Jan 10th 2026

Elle Kannike and G’s duo exhibition “Polylogue: Day of Celebration” is open at the OKAPI Gallery until January 10th 2026.

The exhibition explores what the role of the artist could be in creating and working with material in the era of post-anthropocene.

Elle Kannike is fascinated by G (she gives glass the character name G), the unpredictable behavior of the material acts as a trigger and invites her to play. This game is not chess with fixed rules, this game goes beyond the regulations and routines – a material playmate pushes a human to shake perspectives and discover new horizons. G is an agentic partner.

Co-creation with the agentic material requires that the artist finds a common language with the material and is completely dependent on the material as a creative partner. Both the human artist and the material artist are together in a heated state of adrenaline waiting. Neither of them knows how exactly everything will happen and how the delicate moment of open potentials where they come together will unfold. Elle Kannikes’ creative practice is a collective creation, where the human artist and material artist G as well as several silent actors (water, air etc.) have merged their creative vitality as co-authors in a polylogue.

Photos by Temuri Hvingija.

Exhibition opening hours:
Dec 5 th to Dec 20th 2025 and Jan 7th to Jan 10 th 2026
Wed-Fri 12 – 6 p.m., Sat 12 – 4 p.m.
The artist will be in the gallery on two Saturdays, December 20th and January 10th. During this time, everyone is welcome to come and ask additional questions about the exhibition.

CV

Elle Kannike (b.1980) is Tallinn-based artist working in glass and mosaics. She is intrigued by the question of how an artist must rethink oneself in a upcoming post-anthropocentric world. In 2024 she obtained a Master’s degree (cum laude) in the Glass Department of the Estonian Academy of Arts. Being fascinated by the material agency of glass, in her artistic research she is exploring ways to collaborate with matter. She is a member of the International Association of Contemporary Mosaicists and of the Estonian Glass Artists’ Union.

Tiina Sarapu recently completed her monumental work “Weather and Earth” at the Harku Weather Centre.

See more: https://rkas.ee/et/uudised/keskkonnaagentuuri-harku-ilmakeskuse-poeetiline-klaasikunstiteos-valminud

Kai Kiudsoo-Värv opened her exhibition “In the End, Everybody Wants to Know” at the Okapi Gallery, Tallinn, on Nov 6, 2025.

A new glass gallery has opened at the St Catherine’s Passage in Tallinn’s Old Town. The host, Kati Kerstna, welcomed visitors to the celebration on October 22. Among them, founders of the glass studio that previously operated at the same location – Kai Koppel and Viivi-Ann Keerdo – symbolically handed over the house keys, along with their best wishes. The Estonian Glass Artists’ Union also joins them in wishing Kati a successful future!

Kairi Orgusaar displays her installation “A Recipe for Harmony” at the Venice Glass Week HUB, Palazzo Loredan, from Sept 13 to Sept 21, 2025.

On Saturday 13 September, the ninth edition of The Venice Glass Week officially opens under the title #TheMagicOfGlass. Until 21 September, Venice, Murano and Mestre will be transformed into a stage with over 200 events in 130 venues, featuring more than 300 participants from all over the world. The programme ranges from exhibitions and installations to workshops, guided tours, conferences, open furnaces, family activities and much more. Most events are free of charge, making the festival a unique opportunity for discovery and participation.

Among the highlights are the festival’s two group exhibitions: The Venice Glass Week HUB, hosted at Palazzo Loredan, home of the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, featuring works by 50 established and mid-career international artists, and The Venice Glass Week HUB Under35, hosted for the first time at the Galleria di Piazza San Marco of the Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, showcasing the creativity of 30 emerging young talents.

All information is available on our website www.theveniceglassweek.com. By browsing through the categories or using the filters, you can create your own tailor-made itinerary.

Photo by Mati Hiis.

The Ivo Lill FOundation Glass Sculpture Contest had, at the nominees’ exhibition, offered visitors a chance  to vote for their favourite author. The overwhelming winner was Kateriin Rikken, with her work “Thinking of, and relying on, I”

Congratulations to the winner and the runner-ups – Kairi Orgusaar and Eve Koha!

Photo by Mati Hiis.

The Ivo Lill Foundation, established under the Estonian National Culture Foundation, was created to honour the memory of glass artist Ivo Lill (1953–2019) and to support creators working in sculptural glass.

Ivo Lill was one of Estonia’s most highly regarded and internationally acclaimed glass artists. His body of work includes numerous cold-worked glass sculptures and installations characterized by optical brilliance, mystery, and an exceptionally sensitive visual language. His creations are notable for their material and technical complexity, demonstrating a deep commitment to glass as a sculptural medium.

Ivo Lill’s solo exhibition “Floodwater” was held in the Viinistu Barrel Gallery in 2007. As a tribute, this exhibition will also feature one of his original works on display outside of the competition.

The following authors were chosen as nominees:
Sofi Aršas, Piret Ellamaa, Iohan Figueroa, Emma Haase, Andra Jõgis, Elle Kannike, Erki Kannus, Kati Kerstna, Eve Koha, Kairi Orgussaar, Anne-Liis Leht, Sandra Prami, Birgit Pählapuu, Kateriin Rikken, Maret Sarapu, Tiina Sarapu, Yulia Vakina, Ilo Vill and Kai Kiudsoo-Värv.

The winner was announced on August 2, at the opening of the nominees’ exhibition at Viinistu. The jury decided to award the prize to Piret Ellamaa’s piece titled “Gate: East and West.”

Negotiations
Glass and print exhibition
April 27 – June 24, 2025
Pärnu Museum of New Art

Two seemingly incongruent art disciplines – glass art and printmaking – have entered a round of negotiations. One of them is transparent; the other, not so much. Some artists have invaded each other’s territories and discovered common ground: both media are frequently unpredictable, not fully subdued to the author’s will. The artwork meets its maker only when emerging from the kiln, acid bath, printing press or some other environment where chemistry and physics tend to overshadow human capabilities.
In life, reaching an understanding can be equally chaotic. The artist encounters situations which, more often than not, elude their full control.

All this chaos is temporarily brought to a kind of order at the Pärnu Museum of New Art. The exhibition is a continuation of the project “Imagine” which took place in 2024 at the ARS Project Space, Tallinn.

Participants:
Sofi Aršas, Sirje Eelma, Maria Erikson, Riho Hütt, Anu Juurak, Erki Kannus, Merle Kannus, Malle Karik-Hallimäe, Kati Kerstna, Eve Koha, Kairi Orgusaar, Rait Prääts, Kerttu Rannik, Lembe Ruben, Maret Sarapu, Tiina Sarapu, Eili Soon, Helen Tago-Mullaste, Andres Tali, Mirjam Varik, Kai Kiudsoo-Värv, Vello VInn.

Curators: Merle Kannus, Lembe Ruben.
Exhibition Design: Merle Kannus
Graphic Design: Lembe Ruben
Lighting Design: Kati Kerstna
Thank you: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Museum of New Art, Estonian Glass Artists’ Union, Estonian Printmakers’ Association.