Jewel as Colour by Ivar Kaasik in the A-Galerii Vault

Artist list

Ivar Kaasik

Kaasik’s life’s work is exceptionally extensive and becomes more comprehensible when each piece is viewed independently, without focusing too much on the absence of smooth transitions within the whole. The unifying theme of his sculptural works is colour. In Kaasik’s creations, colour appears both in a metaphysical sense and in material form as oil paint, acrylic paint, their pigments, and dust. In addition, he employs coloured synthetic and natural minerals, including gemstones and corals. Ivar Kaasik writes:

“My creations want to know what kind of a depiction or a thing they are. What makes something silent speak? How do they relate to language, which in society receives more attention than objects? To understand this, one must scrape away the fossilized foundations. Only modern jewellery gives an object a new role and the right to exist, which earlier traditional attitudes did not allow.
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The materialization of a gaze into jewellery through the artist’s hand is like a sovereign, incomprehensible act that cannot be fully explained, because between pure idea and matter lies not only the work of the eyes but also other bodily activity. This sometimes leads us to what we call art.”


Ivar Kaasik (b. 1965) is an Estonian jewellery and visual artist who has lived and worked in Berlin since 1992. He studied architecture and metal art at the Estonian Academy of Arts (1992) and spent an exchange year in Halle, Germany. Kaasik has gained international recognition in both painting and jewellery, participating in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Estonia, Germany, and across Europe. His work intertwines existential themes, historical references, and bold use of colour, often merging the boundaries between painting and jewellery. Kaasik’s works can be found in several collections, including the permanent collection of the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design, as well as the private collection of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. In 1996, he was awarded the DeBeers Diamonds International Award, often referred to as the “Oscar of jewellery art.”
Opening hours: Monday to Friday: 10 am - 6 pm. Saturday: 11 am - 4 pm.
Exhibition is supported by the Estonian Cultural Endowment.