A Touch of Old, a Touch of New by Raili Vinn

Artist list

Raili Vinn

In the material world, people are constantly surrounded by both old and new items. Over an indeterminate period of time, the things transform from their initial state of new to become old. The assessment of "old" is subjective – sometimes an item or a phenomenon ages within a few days, and at other times, something from years ago still seems new.

Within the artist's timeline, the distinctions of "old" and "new" blur in the massive continuum of existence, from which we seek to determine the age of materials used in her jewellery. Even the freshly crafted "new" pieces encompass both the old and the new. Among the materials used for the jewellery are ancient fossilised corals found in Estonian limestone, side by side with contemporary "new" corals – pieces from a coral reef that have been found from the shores of South China Sea.

Raili Vinn (born in 1943) is an Estonian jewellery artist. Her artistic journey began after completing high school, as she studied goldsmithing at ARS Kunstikool and continued her studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts (previously known as ERKI). To this day, she is devoted to the craft of jewellery making with great joy and passion. She is a member of the Estonian Artists' Association and the Estonian Association of Metal Artists. Currently working as a freelance jewellery artist, Vinn previously worked as an artist in the media industry at Ajakirjanduslevi and the advertising company Antiikva and as the chief artist at the jewellery company Ars-Juveel.