Dulwich gallery chief: Konrad Mägi show exceeded our expectations

An exhibition in London of Estonian artist Konrad Mägi's work exceeded all expectations, the gallery's director said.
The work by Mägi, famed for both hits landscapes and portraits, was on display at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in South London and drew more than 37,000 visitors, director
Jennifer Scott said while on a visit to Mägi's home country.
The exhibition ran from the end of March to mid-July.
"It was a hit, and we knew, we could tell, that the art of Kondrad Mägi would work well beautifully in London, but it exceeded even our high expectations – it was the most loved exhibition. We had almost 100 percent of the feedback saying that the visitors loved this exhibition, and the only criticism was they want more – they want more Mägi, it was so wonderful," gallery director Jennifer Scott told "Ringvaade".
Rembrandts and Rubens hang on the Dulwich's 200-year-old walls, but the gallery also dedicates itself to showcasing artists who are lesser known in the U.K., Mägi among them.
Dulwich gallery patrons, who Scott said included business-people, pensioners and collectors alike, contribute around £10,000 a year to the museum's work, and many of them have now visited Estonia off the back of the Mägi exhibition's reception.

As well as the national art museum, Kumu, in Tallinn, the visitors went to Tartu and to Saaremaa. Scott had just braved the autumnal weather on Saaremaa, which includes the Vilsandi lighthouse, the focal point of several Mägi paintings. "I loved it, we all all loved it, because also it's a reason to come back – this is our taster tour with the patrons, and all of us are saying we will come back, so we will come back in the summer and see Saaremaa," she enthused.
"The last room, where we saw big, wonderful contemporary art paintings displayed really innovatively – so I thought the way you're displaying the art, as well as the art itself, is actually really interesting, from a museum point of view. I loved it, the visit was great," added Dame Janet Vitmayer, one of the patrons and British Museum director who also visited Estonia.
Scott noted that Kumu lingered in the visitors' memories, thanks to its architecture and interior design, the warm reception and of course the art collection itself. She highlighted Kumu's famous scultpure bust room as another attraction.
Art collector Enn Kunila hopes the Mägi exhibition shown in London will travel elsewhere in the future too.
"We have had it before that each exhibition has led to the next. I think the exhibition in London should be able to do that too," Kunila said.
The original "Ringvaade" segment can be viewed by clicking on the video player below.
Konrad Mägi (1878–1925) was one of Estonia's first modernist painters, working for only 16 years but producing around 400 paintings in that relatively short time. His work has been on display across Europe in recent years, including in Rome and Paris. The Dulwich exhibition was the first time his art had been shown in the U.K.
Not everyone was a fan of the Dulwich exhibition, however: The Guardian's Jonathan Jones described them as "bland, blobby paintings" and "expressionism without expression," handing the exhibition a one-star review.
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Editor: Andrew Whytem Karmen Rebane
Source: 'Ringvaade'











