EXHIBITION: THE WOO OF COILING PATHS | ANNA MARI LIIVRAND

OPENING: 28/08/2026, 18.15

Exhibition tour by the artist at 20.30. The opening is part of the Gallery Night and Aparaaditehas Festival programme.

Curator: Elīna Drāke

A recent recipient of the Köler Prize, Anna Mari Liivrand works across drawing, sculpture and installation. In her latest body of work, Liivrand extends her exploration of ornamental metalwork, botanical motifs and stained-glass mosaics, incorporating subtle urban gestures inspired by graffiti into her intricate compositions.

Each installation in the exhibition unfolds as a distinct chapter within a broader narrative where every fragment follows its own trajectory while contributing to Liivrand’s evolving visual vocabulary of coiling forms, material memory and transformation.

Combining vintage stained glass, industrial remnants and antique ornamentation, the artist carefully pieces together disparate fragments, coaxing them into forms of striking delicacy. The glass elements embrace fragility: their imperfections preserve traces of the past and become vessels of memory, echoing the philosophy of kintsugi. Whether through floral etchings rendered with the precision of botanical illustration or airy traces of spray paint evoking fragments of urban inscriptions, each structure reveals a beauty shaped by its layered history.

The metal structures recall Gothic ornaments and the protective forms of sacred and memorial architecture, appearing at once monumental and delicate, their linear compositions unfolding like drawings in space. They invite the viewer’s eye to move between overlapping forms, where shifting perspectives reveal new relationships between elements that twist, coil, fork and evolve into ever-changing configurations.

As in Liivrand’s earlier works, the human presence is felt only through what has been left behind. Found objects – coins, keys, paper notes and earrings – emerge as intimate relics, carrying the quiet histories of their former owners and the traces of time they have accumulated. Through collecting what has been discarded and patiently assembling it into intricate structures, Liivrand transforms acts of repair into poetic gestures of care.

Reflecting the complexity of our relationships with memory, nature and the past, Liivrand’s works explore imagined spaces where lightness and permanence exist in tension. The forms of the structures preserve traces of nature’s fleeting presence and create a space where memory, architecture and landscape intertwine. Rather than prescribing a single narrative, each sculpture remains open to interpretation, allowing different relationships between materials, forms and histories to emerge.

Text: Elīna Drāke.

Anna Mari Liivrand is an Estonian artist living and working in Tallinn. She holds a Master’s degree from the Contemporary Art Department (2022) and a Bachelor’s degree from the Sculpture and Installation Department (2016) at the Estonian Academy of Arts. In 2025, Liivrand was awarded the Köler Prize (shared with Hanna Samoson) and an art scholarship established by the Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art and Kaamos Group.
Her recent solo exhibitions include The Woo of Coiling Paths at Kogo Gallery, Tartu (2026) and On the Edge of Fading Voltage at Bærumi Kunsthall, Norway (2025). Recent group exhibitions include Phantom of the Paradise at Vaal Gallery, Tallinn (2026), the Köler Prize award exhibition at EKKM, Tallinn (2026), From Restorer to Conservator at Niguliste Museum, Tallinn (2026), Greater Old Town. 12 Visions at the Estonian Museum of Architecture, Tallinn (2026) and Between Borders, Between Materials at the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design, Tallinn (2025), White Dwarfs and All Those Beautiful Nebulas at Kim? Contemporary Art Centre, Riga, Latvia (2024–25)
Kogo Gallery has presented Liivrand’s work at Riga Contemporary (2025), Esther, New York (2024) and Liste Art Fair Basel (2023). Her works are held in the collections of the Art Museum of Estonia and in private collections across Europe and the USA.

Elīna Drāke is a curator and gallerist based in Riga, Latvia. She holds a master’s degree in art history and curating from the Art Academy of Latvia and has curated and produced more than 30 exhibitions, from ambitious international projects to experimental presentations by emerging artists. She is co-founder of the independent gallery ASNI in Riga, which focuses on the diversity, urgency and experimentation of contemporary Baltic art. Elīna currently serves as artistic director of Riga Art Week and is co-founder of the Gallery Association of Latvia. Her practice encompasses international collaborations with artists, curators, institutions and collectors, as well as the representation of Latvian artists at major art fairs across Europe and the United States. Elīna previously served as executive director of Kim? Contemporary Art Centre from 2019 to 2023.