The exhibition is open from May 31, 2025, at Narva Art Residency (Joala 18, Narva).
We are delighted to announce a new exhibition at Narva Art Residency: “Bloom: The Collection Against Time”, opening on Saturday, May 31. This exhibition is based on the remarkable private collection of Viinistu Kunstimuuseum, with generous support from Jaan Manitski.
Curated by NART’s current artist-in-residence Anna Jensen, the exhibition explores the relationship between landscape, art, memory, and time through a poetic and philosophical lenses. Jensen invites us to experience art collections as living gardens. Taking inspiration from Olivia Laing’s The Garden Against Time (2024), the exhibition reflects on how collections, like gardens, are deeply personal, both public and private, ever-evolving and always rooted in the culture and care of their keepers. The exhibition consists mainly of landscape and nature paintings from the early 20th century to the modern period. It demonstrates how the landscape does not lose its enchanting power as the centuries pass and how the gaze on nature changes with the passage of time.
At its heart, Bloom is a celebration of rebirth, curiosity, and the transformative power of art. In Jensen’s words: “Collections contain secrets: secret paintings hidden on the back of an artwork and secret stories related to the works. A collection can also produce strange growths or germinate in unexpected places.” And so, a seed from the Viinistu collection has found new life here in Narva, ready to inspire new audiences.
We are especially pleased about this collaboration with Viinistu Art Museum allows Narva Art Residency to present works from one of Estonia’s most extensive private collections. We also received support from the Estonian Academy of Arts, Kumu art museum, Narva museum.
The exhibition will remain open until we will know more about the schedule of the upcoming house renovations — so we invite you to visit soon and often. The exhibition is open Thursdays and Fridays at 15 until 19, on Saturdays and Sundays from 13 to 19.
On the opening day, 31st of May, curator Anna Jensen will be present and glad to meet art lovers and visitors. We invite all to gather at 16.00 for a small chat and summery coctail with her. The conversation will be in English.