KADRI PÄRNAMETS: MURAKA

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

CUMMINGTON, MA – Ferrin Contemporary is proud to present Kadri Pärnamets: Muraka, a new exhibition by one of Project Art’s resident artists. The exhibition features porcelain sculptures reflecting on the universal element of water and natural forms opening during Riverfest and Project Art’s Open House on Saturday, September 20th. The public is invited to a short talk with Kadri and gallery director, Leslie Ferrin followed by a reception at 4:30 pm. The exhibit is on view through November 15, 2025.

The exhibition builds on two bodies of work: Kadri Pärnamets: Choreography of Water, her 2022 solo show at Ferrin Contemporary in North Adams, Massachusetts, as well as her first site-responsive public art commission, Fire Sculpture at Claytopia at Guldagergaard in Skælskør, Denmark. The works in Muraka continue themes of abstract biomorphic forms inspired by water, air, and the changing environment of the river ecosystem. Pärnamets uses water as a metaphor; her multicolored surfaces and organic forms visually reference water’s vast, expansive body that connects land and sky and its forces that impact both protect and threaten the land, earth’s inhabitants and possibly humanity itself.

Ferrin Contemporary director Leslie Ferrin comments “Kadri’s grounding in her own environments in both Estonia and Cummington provides a deep foundation for her soft forms and surfaces. Straddling two worlds, her daily walks provide inspiration and the time for reflection as she watches the colors change and considers the impact on nature from the turbulent forces pulling us forward.”

Pärnamets chose the title for her exhibition Muraka, naming it after a place with special meaning for her in Estonia. Muraka is a nature reserve in her home country characterised by its wetlands, unspoilt forest and one of few remaining wilderness areas in north-east Estonia.

Kadri Pärnamets: Muraka includes her first large scale porcelain sculptures produced in 2025 with support from the A.R.T. 2025 grant from Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. The funding provided time and materials to expand on two series 2024 that are included in the exhibition – Fragments of Waves and Frame of Mind series’. These pieces differ in form and scale while tracing a clear flow of consciousness from her past works. Works are placed in rows like thoughts drifting to the surface, contained in their individualism, but connected as part of a wider sea or ecosystem. Her surface treatments, which alternate between matte respites and shimmering, effervescent blue glaze, speak not only to the glimmer of sun on water, but to the changing environment back home in Massachusetts. Residing along the Westfield River, Pärnamets works amongst an everpresent soundtrack of the river’s current and the hush of waving willow trees. In the studio and on her daily walks through the neighborhood, she is always observing, listening, and finding inspiration in the acute timbres and textures of the changing New England seasons.

Kadri Pärnamets: Muraka opens during the RiverFest organized by Cummington Cultural District. The family-friendly, participatory day long programs celebrate the wild and scenic Westfield River that runs through the heart of Cummington, MA. Throughout the festival, artists, humanists, and scientists share their practices and knowledge as a frame for hands-on, experiential, and sensory experiences for participants across a variety of means of engagement, including workshops, walks, guided movement, performances, and public artworks. As part of this, Kadri and her husband, sculptor Sergei Isupov, will host a day-long RAKU firing. Participants may bring up to four bisqued ceramic pieces to glaze and fire during their chosen firing slot. Visit Project Art’s event page to learn more and register.

Pärnamets’ work has been shown internationally at the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design (Tallinn, Estonia), at the International Tea Trade Expo (Shanghai, China), at Guldagergaard in Skælskør, Denmark, and many others. Since 1996, she has participated in symposiums in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Switzerland, USA, Norway, and Hungary. She graduated from the Art Institute of Tallinn, Estonia with a BA/MFA in Ceramics. Dividing her time between Estonia and the USA, her primary studio is the USA at Project Art in Cummington, MA. She is represented by Ferrin Contemporary.

ABOUT KADRI PÄRNAMETS

Estonian, b. 1968, Rakvere, Estonia
lives and works in Cummington, MA

Kadri Pärnamets works in porcelain using traditional hand building and sculpting techniques to combine surface and form. Her biomorphic, organic forms provide a means to convey her personal interests ranging from fragile, natural environments to female identity. Her surface treatments feature a range of gesture and expression with either abstract shape or narrative figure painting, inspired by painters from the European Renaissance and Impressionist eras, like Lucas Cranach the Elder and Edouard Manet.

Pärnamets’ work has been shown internationally at the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design (Tallinn, Estonia), at the International Tea Trade Expo (Shanghai, China), and many others. Since 1996, she has participated in symposiums in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Switzerland, USA, Norway, and Hungary.

Pärnamets graduated from the Art Institute of Tallinn, Estonia with a BA/MFA in Ceramics. Dividing her time between Estonia and USA, her primary studio is the USA at Project Art in Cummington, MA. She is represented by Ferrin Contemporary.