Punctum Gallery Tallinn

20/09/2026

Photo reportage from the exhibition 'The Summer Before The Dark' by Marge Monko at the Punctum Gallery in Echo Gone Wrong

Listen to this article:Your browser does not support the audio element.0:000:00Summer arrives quietly, and it leaves the same way — dissolving into the year’s slow turning. The light shifts from summer to autumn so gradually that we almost never notice the exact moment it’s gone, only that, so...

19/09/2026

Walter Benjamin kirjutas kord oma raamatukogu lahti pakkides, et iga köide kannab endas hetke, mil see kätte võeti ja kohta, kust see pärit on: käe soojust, mis selle riiulisse tõstis, poodi, kust see soetati, või sõpra, kellelt see laenuks saadi. Raamatukogu, ütles ta, on omaniku mälu materialiseerumine, korrastamata ja isiklik kord, mida keegi teine kunagi täielikult lugeda ei oska.

Marge Monko näitusel „Suvi enne pimedust“ eksponeeritud elusuuruses teos "Raamatud" pärineb perioodist, mil Monko oli hiljuti kolinud ning õppis Eesti Kunstiakadeemia magistrantuuris. Raha polnud siis raamaturiiulikski ja nii kogunesidki raamatud aastate jooksul põrandale virnadesse, ilma igasuguse süsteemita — fototeooria, lastekasvatamise käsiraamat, proosa ja luule, kõik läbisegi. Just see juhuslik kooslus ajendaski selle üles pildistama.

Näitus on avatud kuni 25. oktoobrini ning jääb avatuks ka Foto Tallinn kunstimessi ajal, mis toimub sel nädalavahetusel Punctumist vaid mõne sammu kaugusel!

📸 Marge Monko ja Roman-Sten Tõnissoo

14/09/2026

"Silvia Kurman oli vastuvõtul kurtnud unetust ja alusetuid hirme. Väsimus? Ealised muutused? Ei millestki lähemalt. Pisikesed neuroosid ilmnesid tänapäeva inimestel niisama sagedasti nagu tüütud vihmasajud sügisel, ja tohtril oli paugupealt pilt selge ning retseptid varnast võtta. Tuleb ennast normi viia ja normis olla – eesmärgi väljaselgitamine oli juba poolvõitu."
Aimée Beekman "Loobumisvõimalus", 1985

Teos #1 Marge Monko uuest seeriast "Päikesetervitus" (2026), on jäädvustatud mustvalgele infrapunafilmile, materjalile, mis on tundlik väljaspool nähtavat spektrit asuva kiirguse suhtes — valgus, mida silm ise iial ei näinud, muutub siin äkitselt loetavaks. Seerias on pilt ja tekst spetsiaalse maski abil fotopaberile säritatud üheaegselt. Monko on seerias
kasutanud tsitaate naiskirjanike teostest, mis puudutavad ealisi muutusi.

Näitus on avatud kuni 25. oktoobrini igal neljapäeval ja reedel kell 13–19, laupäeval ja pühapäeval kell 14–18 või kokkuleppel.
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"During her consultation, Silvia Kurman had complained of insomnia and unfounded fears. Fatigue? Age-related changes? Nothing more specific than that. Minor neuroses were as common amongst people these days as those pesky autumn showers, and the doctor immediately saw the picture clearly and had the prescriptions ready to hand. She needed to get herself back to normal and stay that way – identifying the goal was already half the battle."
Aimée Beekman "The Option of Opting Out", 1985 (free translation)

# 1 from the Marge Monko’s new series "Sun Salutation" (2026) was captured on black-and-white infrared film, a material sensitive to light radiation outside the visible spectrum.
In the series, image and text are exposed onto photographic paper simultaneously using a
specially made mask. Monko has incorporated quotations from the works of female writers thataddress experiences of aging and age-related change.

The exhibition is open until October 25th, every Thursday and Friday 13—19, Saturday and Sunday 14—18, or by appointment.

11/09/2026

Punctum Galeriil on hea meel taas osaleda Foto Tallinna kunstimessil. Sel aastal esitleme Joosep Kivimäe (EE) ja Kristine Krauze-Slucka (LV) teoseid.

Kivimäed paelub Läänemere roll transpordikoridorina ning oma teoste abil püüab ta mõelda sellest, kuidas mõjutavad tehnoloogilised süsteemid liikumist, taju ning inimese ja masina vahelist suhet.

Krauze-Slucka kontseptuaalne praktika uurib taktiilset kujutiseloomet ja tööstuslikult toodetud objektide materiaalsust, piiride voolavust ja haprust.

Messil käsitlevad nii Kristine kui ka Joosepi teosed ruumi konstrueerimist ja tajumist geograafia, materiaalsete protsesside ja tehnoloogiliste süsteemide kaudu. Mõlema loomingus on piirid pidevas muutumises ning kunstnike tundlik pilk on suunatud tavapäraselt märkamatuks jäävatele detailidele, millele saab fotokunsti tehnikate abil võimu juurde anda.

Kohtumiseni messil!

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Punctum Gallery is delighted to participate in the Foto Tallinn art fair once again. This year, we are presenting works by Joosep Kivimäe (EE) and Kristine Krauze-Slucka (LV).

Kivimäe is fascinated by the role of the Baltic Sea as a transport corridor, and through his works he reflects on how technological systems organise movement and perception, as well as the relationship between humans and machines.

Krauze-Slucka’s conceptual practice explores tactile image-making and the materiality of industrially produced objects, as well as the fluidity and fragility of boundaries.

At the fair, the works of both Kristine and Joosep address the construction and perception of space through geography, material processes, and technological systems. In both artists’ practices, boundaries are constantly shifting, while their sensitive gaze is directed towards details that usually go unnoticed and that can be given greater agency through photographic techniques.

See you at the fair!

09/09/2026

Tallinnas Punctum galeriis avati Marge Monko isikunäitus "Suvi enne pimedus", mis algab mitte pimedusest, vaid viimasest valgusest enne seda, kui teadvustame, et miski on juba möödunud ja meist läbi käinud.

07/09/2026

🥂 Marge Monko isikunäitus “Suvi enne pimedust” on avatud! Suur aitäh kõigile, kes avamisele jõudsid ja kõigile, kes meie juurde tulemas on!

Kultuurikriitiku Emel-Elizabeth Tuuliku esseed saab lugeda siin: https://punctumgallery.com/naitused/suvi-enne-pimedust

Näitus on avatud kuni 25. oktoobrini.

Oleme avatud N – R 13.00 – 19.00 ja L – P 14.00 – 18.00.
Meie külastamiseks väljaspool lahtiolekuaegu (tutvumine arhiiviga, grupivisiidid, galeristi konsultatsioon) võtke julgelt ühendust.

Fotod: Roman-Sten Tõnissoo
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🥂 Marge Monko’s solo exhibition “The Summer Before The Dark” is now open!
A big thank you to everyone who came to the opening and to everyone who is planning to visit us!

An essay by cultural critic Emel-Elizabeth Tuulik can be read here: https://punctumgallery.com/exhibitions/the-summer-before-the-dark

The exhibition is on view until 25 October.

We are open Thu–Fri 13.00–19.00 and Sat–Sun 14.00–18.00.
To visit us outside our regular opening hours (to explore the archive, for group visits, or for a consultation with the gallerist), please feel free to get in touch.

Photos: Roman-Sten Tõnissoo

03/09/2026

Marge Monko rääkis KUKU Raadiole antud intervjuus homme õhtul avanevast näitusest pealkirjaga "Suvi enne pimedust" Punctum galeriis.

Avamine reedel kell 18:00.

https://kuku.postimees.ee/podcast/neeme-raud-siin/311386

Foto: Renee Altrov

28/08/2026

🥂 On Friday, 4th of September at 6 p.m. PUNCTUM opens its new season with THE SUMMER BEFORE THE DARK, a solo exhibition by acclaimed photographic artist Marge Monko.

There is a period of transition from one state to another for which there is no word in Estonian — that brief, lingering moment when daylight changes day by day and no one notices until, suddenly, it is completely dark. Summer never announces its end, just as it never announces its beginning. Marge Monko’s solo exhibition THE SUMMER BEFORE THE DARK begins precisely with this inertia: not with darkness itself, but with the last light before we realise that something has already passed and moved through us.
The exhibition title is borrowed from Doris Lessing’s 1973 novel of the same name.

Marge Monko (b. 1976) is a well-known name in Estonian photographic art. Over the past decade, her practice has moved along the boundary between documentary and conceptual photography, consistently exploring how the personal and the political, the intimate and the social intertwine. Having earned a Master’s degree in Photography from the Estonian Academy of Arts and later headed its Photography Department for several years, Monko has explored in her earlier work the representation of women’s image, labour, and bodies in public space — often reflecting on her own experiences or those of other women through found material, archives, and the gaze of others. "Summer Before Darkness" continues this line of inquiry while turning the gaze more directly towards her own life: a photographic artist accustomed to looking at others now allows herself to be looked at.

The exhibition presents two photographic series and two pairs of photographs, all dealing with something that is in the process of changing but has not yet entirely disappeared. Each work is, in its own way, dedicated to the same question — how do we remain with something that is already halfway gone?

🥂 You are warmly invited to the opening!
We are located in Noblessner, Tallinn. At Allveelaeva 4, with entrance from Vesilennuki Street.
The exhibition will remain open until 25 of October and is free to the public

25/08/2026

✨️ On Friday, September 4th, at 6 p.m. we are inviting you to join us for the opening of the solo exhibition by acclaimed photographic artist Marge Monko!

There is a period of transition from one state to another for which there is no word in Estonian — that brief, lingering moment when daylight changes day by day and no one notices until, suddenly, it is completely dark.

Summer never announces its end, just as it never announces its beginning.

Marge Monko’s solo exhibition THE SUMMER BEFORE THE DARK begins precisely with this inertia: not with darkness itself, but with the last light before we realise that something has already passed and moved through us.

16/06/2026