18.00 Guided tour with the artist (in English) and book launch (in Estonian)

Please join us for the launch of Crystal Grid – a new artists’ book by Paul Kuimet – on Thursday, November 23 at 6 pm. The event will begin at Draakoni Gallery with a guided tour by the artist. The tour will be held in English. After the tour the book launch will take place at Kanuti Gildi SAAL. At the launch the artist will be in conversation with the art critic Hanno Soans. Discussion is held in Estonian. During the launch the publication will be sold at a special price of 20 euros. On the evening of the launch Paul Kuimet’s exhibition at Draakoni Gallery will be open until 8 pm.

“[…] How to give structure to something that itself is lacking one? How to present something like that? This is a question of visibility and making visible. What are the means for making visible something that always remains invisible? More precisely: the thing that remains invisible in real life, but of which we can get a glimpse in Crystal Grid, is the structure of capitalism. But how to display something like that?”
— Neeme Lopp, “Paul Kuimet’s analytical photography”, essay from the book

Paul Kuimet's new book presents two series by the artist – "Crystal Grid" (2020–2023) and an ensuing series of assemblages "What It Is to Be What You Are Not" (2022).

The works are connected by a set of geometric shapes from a grid that is based on the roof structure of the central transept of the Crystal Palace, erected for the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. While the photographic material of the "Crystal Grid" collages has been photographed in different botanical gardens around the world, the assemblages of the "What It Is to Be What You Are Not" series use images exposed to light-sensitive paper in the darkness of a photo lab together with leaves collected in the Tallinn Botanic Garden. Juxtaposed, the works raise different questions about the notions of place, form and representation in photography.

The book includes an essay by Neeme Lopp, it was designed by Indrek Sirkel, and published by Lugemik. The publication was kindly supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Paul Kuimet
Crystal Grid

Text: Neeme Lopp
Graphic design: Indrek Sirkel
88 pp, 215 x 280 mm
in English and Estonian
Lugemik, 2023

Paul Kuimet (1984) is an artist who works with photography, 16 mm film, and installation
comprising of these media. He has recently exhibited at Tartu Art Museum (2023), 8th Artishok Biennale at Tallinn Botanic Garden (2022), WIELS Project Space, Brussels (2021), FUGA: Budapest Centre of Architecture (2021), Kogo Gallery, Tartu (2020), and Tallinn Art Hall (2020).

Neeme Lopp (1980) is a researcher and publisher at the Estonian Academy of Arts. He has compiled, edited, and translated books, written academic articles, as well as literary and art criticism.

Hanno Soans (1974) is a freelance art critic and a doctoral student of Art History and Visual Culture at the Estonian Academy of Arts. He has written and translated academic articles and art criticism, as well as curated art exhibitions and participated in exhibitions as an artist.