“Read My Eyes” by Kelli Valk

On Friday, November 8, at 5 p.m., the graphic artist Kelli Valk will open her solo exhibition “Read My Eyes” at the Vabaduse Gallery.

At the exhibition, Kelli Valk displays a selection of graphic works from 2024, which are strongly impelled by the continued war in Ukraine. The artist feels the need to ask “Why?” and “Who should give the answers?” But when one tries to rationalise the discord of our anxious world, only confusion echoes back. To think there’s still such destruction happening in our time… Fear, sorrow, despair seep into one’s eyes.

With these printed works we encounter the abstract and translucent layers that are characteristic of Kelli Valk’s art, wherein certain meaningful details are sometimes planted or merged. Instead of the “personal memory voyages” or “associative inner perceptions”, which are familiar from Valk’s previous work, the artist now wishes to dedicate herself with empathy and compassion to other travellers: those seeking refuge, families who have left their homes, lost children and those broken by the storm. In unison, this collection of works embodies a single wordless prayer for those people. Although the general tone here is worrisome, there are also more hopeful notes apparent. The guardian angels will come and new life will ensue. The necessity to look toward the future prevails.

Kelli Valk: “Everyone is trying to find their place in this changed world. In our hearts we are little hurt children, who have experienced loss, grief, yearning, loneliness, belittlement. We live like travellers, one day at a time. From these travellers communities are formed. The brief, heartwarming conversations between the travellers are what keep us alive.”

Kelli Valk (b. 1952) studied printmaking at the Estonian Academy of Arts (then State Art Institute of the Estonian SSR), graduating in 1978. Since then she has actively participated in both solo shows and many group exhibitions both in Estonia and abroad. Her work in both printmaking and book illustration has received numerous accolades, and her artworks have been included in the collections of several international museums. Kelli Valk has also worked as artistic editor at the Estonian Encyclopaedia Publishers and has been a longtime faculty member at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Valk is a member of the Estonian Printmakers Association and the Estonian Artists’ Association since 1992.

The exhibition will remain open until December 4, 2024.

The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.
The gallery is supported by the Estonian Ministry of Culture, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and Liviko Ltd.

Vabaduse Gallery is managed by the Estonian Artists’ Association.

Additional information:
Vabaduse Gallery
Tel: +372 5805 0009
E-mail: vabaduse@eaa.ee
Vabaduse väljak 6
10146 Tallinn
Mon–Fri 11.00–18.00
Sat  11.00–17.00