Intimacy and ambition at Tütar gallery

By Malin Norman

Estonia has a strong generation of contemporary artists whose work deserves sustained visibility, both locally and internationally. In response to this need, Tütar gallery opened its doors in Tallinn in May 2023, with a solo exhibition by painter Katrin Piile. This summer and autumn, Tütar tempts with a diverse programme of must-see exhibitions.

The idea behind Tütar gallery was not simply to add another exhibition space, but to build a gallery that works closely with artists over time – through exhibitions, collector relationships, curatorial dialogue and international presentations. The name Tütar, meaning daughter in Estonian, also carries importance.

“Tütar suggests a younger generation, but also lineage – a relationship with what came before,” says Mailis Timmi, founder and director of the gallery. “We’re interested in artists who understand history, material and technique, but who also speak from the present. Tütar is still a young gallery, but the ambition is long-term: to create a serious platform for artists whose practices can travel beyond Estonia without losing their specificity.”

Mailis Timmi, founder and director of Tütar gallery. Photo: Virge Viertek

Direct encounters with the works

What makes Tütar special is the combination of intimacy and ambition. “We’re not trying to be a large, anonymous white cube,” says Timmi. “The gallery is a focused space where visitors can have a direct encounter with the work, but the programme is built with an international horizon.”

Tütar mainly partners with younger-generation Estonian artists, while also opening the programme to artists and practices that expand the conversation around contemporary art in Estonia. Its programme reflects that ambition, presenting artists in Estonia and abroad through exhibitions, audience programmes and international platforms.

Rather than being shaped by a single aesthetic or artistic tendency, the programme spans a broad spectrum of practices, including technically demanding paintings, photography, installations, conceptual works, and more experimental forms of expression. Exhibitions are carefully curated, revealing layers of meaning beneath their visual clarity.

Mihkel Maripuu, VEXARIS, 2026.

Active summer and Foto Tallinn 2026

An active summer programme awaits. From 2 to 5 July, Tütar will participate in Riga Contemporary at Hanzas Perons in Riga, Latvia. Here, the gallery will present works by Mihkel Maripuu from his exhibition ALTERIX, which explores points of contact between technological and organic worlds.

Tütar will also be represented at KIKUMU Festival, which takes place from 9 to 12 July in Jäneda, with works by Urmas Lüüs, Angela Maasalu and Kärt Hammer. KIKUMU brings together cinema, art and music. “For us, this is an interesting context because art is presented outside the usual gallery environment, in dialogue with music, film, architecture and nature,” says Timmi.

In September, Tütar will introduce painter August Sai, who has been a distinctive voice in Estonian painting but recently has had a quieter period. “Sai’s return gives audiences the chance to see where his painting has moved after this pause,” says Timmi. “There’s always a particular charge around an artist coming back to public view: you’re not only seeing new works, but also a changed relationship to time, practice and visibility.”

Also in September, Tütar will participate in Foto Tallinn 2026 with Estonian photo and installation artist Dénes Farkas. The fair takes place from 18 to 20 September at Kai Art Center and focuses on contemporary photographic art. Farkas’s installation Nothing Makes Sense, first developed for Reykjavík’s Sequences Festival, has been reinterpreted as a flexible wall-based display of more than 50 A4 photographic prints. The work draws on literary references and photographic research in global seed banks in Svalbard, Lebanon and St. Petersburg, reflecting on systems of preservation under fragile conditions.

Dénes Farkas. Photos from the installation Nothing Makes Sense, Reykjavík, Iceland (2023). | Intimacy and ambition at Tütar gallery

Dénes Farkas. Photos from the installation Nothing Makes Sense, Reykjavík, Iceland (2023).

Katrin Piile at Art Cologne

Internationally, Tütar will also participate in Art Cologne, in the Neumarkt section, presenting new works by Katrin Piile from her Nothing Blooms Always – After Still Life series. “Piile’s works are a powerful introduction to the kind of painting we’re interested in: technically precise, visually seductive, but not decorative,” adds Timmi. “The motif of discarded flowers is familiar and beautiful at first glance, but it quickly becomes a reflection on impermanence, consumption and value.”