"Spiegel im Spiegel" is an extensive cooperation project that studies past and present contacts between Estonian and German art. While reflecting the complexity of those relations as well as the issues of colonial power and mentality, the exhibition also highlights the significant cultural intertwining evident in German, Baltic-German and Estonian art.

The exhibition was formally opened on Wednesday by Estonian President Alar Karis and Minister-President of Saxony Michael Kretschmer.

To mark the opening, Estonian vocal ensemble Vox Clamantis will also perform Arvo Pärt's music in the atrium of the Albertinum, the modern art museum next to the Lipsiusbau, on Thursday evening.

Curated by Marion Ackermann, Sergey Fofanov and Kadi Polli, "Spiegel im Spiegel" was organized in cooperation between the Dresden State Art Collections (SKD) and the Art Museum of Estonia.

The exhibition brings together works by Arvo Pärt and Gerhard Richter, August Matthias Hagen and Caspar David Friedrich, Eduard Wiiralt and Otto Dix, Konrad Mägi and Max Pechstein, Ülo Sooster and Joseph Beuys, and many other major figures from Estonia and German art.

"The SKD has set its sights on studying art from Eastern, Central and Northern Europe, and on cooperating with significant museums from those regions," explained SKD director general Bernd Ebert.

"'Spiegel im Spiegel' is our first cooperation with the Art Museum of Estonia," he continued. "This encompassing cultural encounter impressively accentuates how close and impactful the interactions of the two countries have been for centuries: these are ties that extend into the present. We believe this exhibition will enrich our understanding of our shared history and art."

"Estonian art deserves to be better known, particularly in Germany, because we have centuries of shared history — from the Crusades of the early 13th century through the Baltic-German overlordship and Russian czarist rule to the early 20th century," highlighted Kumu Art Museum director Kadi Polli, one of the curators of the exhibition.

History through twelve encounters

"We've set up twelve encounters, or dialogues, between Estonian and German art at this exhibition," she explained.

These include "An Artist's Self-Image," "A University of the Age of Enlightenment in Tartu," "Learning from Old Masters," "Romanticism by the Gulf of Finland," "Baltic Decadence," "Two Republics," and "Dix and Wiiralt's Circle of Friends." "Fear" and "On the Other Side of the Mirror" also shine a light on the Soviet-occupied Estonia and German Democratic Republic (GDR) period.

"Interferences by contemporary art also play a significant role," Polli continued. "Kristina Norman addresses German colonial fantasies and the Hanseatic legacy, while Jaanus Samma examines Estonian and German national stereotypes. The opening dialogue of the exhibition is the encounter between the oeuvres of two living legends: Arvo Pärt and the Dresden artist Gerhard Richter."

The majority of the works on display come from the collections of the Art Museum of Estonia and the SKD, but some have also been borrowed from other museums and private collections in Estonia and Germany alike.

Two-thirds of the nearly 150 works on display are from collections in Estonia, and they include paintings, prints, sculptures, items, videos and even spatial installations.

The contemporary artists involved include Kristina Norman, Jaanus Samma and Edith Karlson. The Dresden exhibition features the central part of "Hora lupi," Karlson's installation shown at the Church of Santa Maria delle Penitenti as part of the Estonian Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale last year.

"Spiegel im Spiegel" also marks the first time a selection of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt's manuscripts and musical diaries, chosen by the Arvo Pärt Center, will be displayed outside Estonia.

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