The Woo of Coiling Paths

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Description

Anna Mari Liivrand
Curated by Elīna Drāke
29.8.2026 — 24.10.2026

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.

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.

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.

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.

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