Group exhibition “Connecting Link” dedicated to the memory of Reet Varblane

On Friday, 19 September at 5:00 p.m., the group exhibition Connecting Link dedicated to the memory of Reet Varblane (1952–2023) will open at the Vabaduse Gallery. The exhibition is a tribute to Reet’s life and work, showcasing also the documentation of the final act of her last major curatorial project Baton from Kütiorg to Kadriorg. Force. Spirit. Power, in which Reet could no longer take part in. More broadly, the exhibition is a contemplation on the mystery of the humankind's inner world and death as a vital force.

„What if we didn’t think of death as a final and irreversible end, but as a dynamic process where life and death are intertwined? What if grief was not only the pain of loss, but a creative force that would open the way to memories, connections and new beginnings? What if we thought of the relationship with the dead as a living and meaningful one, where the departed remain among us through stories, dreams, rituals and actions,” ask the curators of the exhibition, Ulla Juske and Jana Huul. This is the kind of dialogue in which the art historian, curator, mother, grandmother, friend and colleague Reet Varblane lives on.

The memorial exhibition at Vabaduse Gallery, where Reet worked for the last ten years of her life, was initiated by her colleague and friend Marje Taska. The participating artists are Sveta Grigorjeva, Eva Labotkin, Villu Plink, Jüri Ojaver, Marje Taska and Silja Saarepuu, and the exhibition designer is Villu Plink. The connecting link between all the people involved in the exhibition is Reet, who continues to inspire, encourage and bring people together even after her passing. They are among the many with whom Reet shared her creative journey: curating their exhibitions, writing about their work or incorporating them into her projects.

Reet Varblane (1952–2023) was an art historian, critic and curator. She studied at the faculty of history of the University of Tartu from 1970 to 1975, and continued her studies at the Central European University in Prague in 1993 and at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 1995. In 1995, Reet defended her master’s thesis tackling the life and work of the Estonian artist Ado Vabbe. Amidst the winds of change brought on by the 1990s, Reet became focused on feminist art, and one of her central themes was the oeuvre of the artist Karin Luts. From 2003 to 2012, Reet worked as a curator-gallerist at the Tallinn Art Hall, and from there on, until the end of her life, as a gallerist at the Vabaduse Gallery, as well as an art editor for the cultural weekly Sirp. Her last curatorial project was an exhibition on the theme of force-spirit-power, in collaboration with Marje Taska, which extended from Võrumaa to Tallinn and culminated in 2023 in Kadriorg. The documentation of the baton project can be found at www.teatepulk.com.

Ulla Juske is an artist with a background in sculpture and semiotics and the daughter of Reet Varblane. In her practice, Ulla has focused on themes related to her place in the world, home and family history. In 2019, she and Reet produced together the exhibition The Daughter of the Huntsman, which dealt with the story of Ulla’s grandfather and Reet’s father. In August of this year, Ulla curated together with Liisi Tamm the exhibition From Mother to Daughter, from Daughter to Mother dedicated to Reet. Since 2022, Ulla has been working as the administrative manager of the Centre for Semiotic Applications at the University of Tartu, and since the autumn of this year, she has been a junior researcher at the same department. Ulla’s doctoral thesis examines the meaning-making potential of personal objects left behind by the deceased.

Jana Huul is a gallerist and curator, as well as a colleague and friend of Reet Varblane. Jana graduated from the Tartu Art College sculpture department in 2007 and completed her master’s degree in art pedagogy at the Estonian Academy of Arts in 2010. Since 2008, she has worked as a gallerist in the city of Võru and for the last 14 years at the Vana-Võromaa Museum. Huul has curated several solo and group exhibitions and worked as a project manager for several cultural projects.

Her closer collaboration with Reet Varblane began in 2015, when she hosted as a gallerist the exhibition Memories That Get Under Your Skin at the Võru Gallery. In 2020, Jana and Reet co-curated the joint exhibition of Estonian artists lahtiÜhtimine at the Vana-Võromaa Museum. The following year, Jana, Reet and Marje Taska initiated the art project Baton from Kütiorg to Kadriorg. Force. Spirit. Power, which found its culmination with the exhibition Power curated by Reet. Unfortunately, this remained her last exhibition.

The exhibition Connecting Link at Vabaduse Gallery will remain open until 15 October, 2025.

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-post: vabaduse@eaa.ee
Vabaduse väljak 6
10146 Tallinn
Mon–Fri 11.00–18.00
Sat  11.00–17.00