Radical Softness
The Estonian contemporary jewellery exhibition Radical Softness debuted in 2024 in Lisbon, at the Igreja da Madalena church. It is now coming to the Niguliste Museum, as the first exhibition to be held on the highest floor of the tower.
All of the artists participating in the exhibition discovered their own voices with the guidance of Kadri Mälk (1958–2023), the long-time head of the Jewellery and Blacksmithing Department at the Estonian Academy of Arts. The choice of venue – Niguliste Museum (the former St Nicholas’ Church) – is symbolic in many ways. It was close to Kadri’s soul: she held her solo exhibition at the museum, and from there she was sent on her final journey.
Kadri encouraged her students to sense the vertical dimension of life: the inner sacred space. Here, in the church tower, closer to the sky, engaging with the fundamental questions of life and existence feels especially fitting. It takes strength of character to explore such existential themes, and it requires the ability to leave things unsaid. Sixteen jewellery artists contemplate existence through material, inviting us to pause and seek answers, and the resilience to remain ourselves, from within, rather than from the external world. In this era of cultural and identity wars, taking a thoughtful moment for introspection is more important than ever.
Resistance is a form of staying true to yourself, remaining true to yourself as a form of resistance. Radical softness challenges hierarchical systems that prioritise dominance and control. Instead, what if we spoke the language of gentleness and understanding? What if we used softness to melt rigidity, dissolving power struggles into empathy?
In connection with this exhibition, I conducted an interview with Professor Jüri Allik, who has devoted his work to studying the shared traits of nations and individuals. Allik observed that “radical softness” has a parallel concept in physics: tough, tenacious softness is essentially the same as elasticity: a body’s ability to change shape when acted upon by an external force and to return to its former shape once the force is removed. The ability to bend is what keeps a reed from breaking in the wind.
Here in northern Europe, people tend to regard the world with a kind of stoic conservatism; many things settle into place on their own with the passage of time. “A wise man does not rush,” said the Estonians of old: haste makes waste. Yet our calm demeanour does not imply indifference or weakness. It is more akin to a synergistic sensitivity to the world, where the intuitive and even the enchanted have their rightful place. Our softness, however, is also tinged with escapism, a tendency to withdraw under pressure.
Our (national) self-mythology also contains a strong strain of romanticism: sentimentality which inspires artists. After all, something connects us, or at least connects these sixteen artists here. But perhaps there is nothing uniquely Estonian in this realisation; perhaps the world is filled with radically soft people: tough reeds rustling in the wind, embodying the conscience and empathetic self-awareness needed to counterbalance the weight of existence.
Tanel Veenre
Artworks
The exhibition Radical Softness is scheduled to run in parallel with the exhibition Dark Sky of Imagination: Jewellery by Kadri Mälk at the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design, from 7 November 2025 to 5 April 2026.
Artists:
Darja Popolitova, Erinn Michelle Cox, Erle Nemvalts, Eve Margus, Hansel Tai, Julia Maria Künnap, Ketli Tiitsar, Kristiina Laurits, Maarja Niinemägi, Maria Valdma Härm, Marita Lumi, Nils Hint, Piret Hirv, Taavi Teevet, Tanel Veenre, Villu Plink
Curator: Tanel Veenre
Exhibition design: Villu Plink, Tanel Veenre
Graphic design: Hansel Tai
