Meeli Kõiva (known professionally as Mery Crystal Ra;[1] born 14 January 1960, Tartu, Estonia) is an Estonian-American artist, curator, and art filmmaker who primarily works with architectural glass, light and multimedia. She is active in Finland, Belgium, and the United States, where she has produced a range of paintings, architectural lighting sculptures, multimedia installations, videos, and architectural stained glass. She pioneered a new era of architectural light-art space by bringing in the participation of light observers, focusing on "light motion via glass surfaces and esoteric meanings: limits of the mind and body"

Meeli Kõiva

Career

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Kõiva studied painting and worked with glass, plastics, and lasers at the Estonian Academy of Arts (formerly the Tallinn Art University), graduating in 1984.[2] Her first exhibition was held in 1991 at the Estonian Fairs in Tallinn, Estonia.[3] In 1994, she represented Estonia at the "Jubilee" festival in Malmö, Sweden.[4] She is a member of the Estonian Association of Artists.[2]

Kõiva is interested in using abstract stained glass in architecture, in a non-religious and religious context. Through her work, she integrates architecture and interior design using glass and other reflective surfaces, color and light to create an "intriguing moment" for viewers.[2] More recently, Kõiva has also included video and multimedia components in her work. She is best known for Reactive River, a 2006 exhibition in the European Parliament building in Brussels, Belgium.[5]

In 2013 and 2014, Kõiva was a winner of the Light In the city, Northern Light competition.[6] In 2015, she was awarded the "Public Choice Video Award" by CODAworx.[7] Kõiva was invited to speak at the 2016 closing ceremonies of the United Nations International Year of Light in Mérida, Mexico, where she also installed an exhibition, "Light for Peace."[8]

In addition to her work with glass and light, Kõiva also paints and makes jewelry using leather and glass.[3]

Selected installations

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Films

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  • Light for Peace, 2:42 min. [1]
  • Parasite Beach, 4:39 min. [2]
  • Golden Gate Meets Golden Gateway, 2:54 min. [3]
  • Flying Sheets Of Paper, 3:14 min. [4]
  • Human Touch /Serendipity Dating At Baldachin Bed [5]

References

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  1. ^ Profile, merycrystalra.com; accessed 15 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d Weis, Helene (Winter 1997). "Dreams of the Transparent Room". Stained Glass. 92 (4): 266–271.
  3. ^ a b c Wallenius, Olavi. "Meeli Kõiva - A Stubborn Glass Magician" (PDF). merycrystalra.com. The World of Glass. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  4. ^ Lawrence, Thomas (Spring 1997). "Meeli Koiva Creates a World of Luminosity, Space and Metamorphosis". Manhattan Arts International: 29.
  5. ^ "From nothing to something via light and glass" Archived 2013-01-19 at archive.today, chattininmanhattan.com; accessed 15 July 2015.
  6. ^ "Light in the City in Eskilstuna - Speakers". City of Jyväskylä. City of Jyväskylä. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Mery Crystal Ra Profile". CODAworx. CODAworx. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d Brannon, Mike (October 2017). "Natural Magic". enLIGHTenment Magazine: 78–82.
  9. ^ "A River of Glass for the EU Parliament" (PDF). gimav.it. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 January 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  10. ^ Crystal Ra, Mary. "PARASITE BEACH". CODAworx. CODAworx. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
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