At the jubilee exhibition celebrating his 75th birthday, Vilen Künnapu will exhibit his latest series of paintings, which are inspired exclusively by Tallinn - the city that has played a central role in his life and which he has helped shape over the years both as an architect and as an artist, presenting his energetic visions of Tallinn in colors.

The artist has titled his exhibition through the feeling of happiness that he associates with Tallinn, which could be interpreted in many ways. Poetically, perhaps so that we ourselves are the capital of our happiness. Vilen Künnapu himself has written about his exhibition:

"My capital of happiness is of course Tallinn, because I live and create my own happy reality here. With my paintings, I try to free the world from forced programs, like shamans who try to free themselves from the human form by spinning around in their masks. The disappearance of the human form is also the disappearance of prejudices, helping us to see the true, energetic reality.

I started drawing and painting Tallinn when I was 16 years old. My teacher was Raivo Korstnik, a brilliant artist and pedagogue. His cubist views of Tallinn were a real revelation for me. The meeting with Raivo permanently influenced my later path as an artist and architect. Raivo taught me that art is a miracle and an artist is a magician. At ERKI, however, I was fascinated by the early paintings of my friends Andres Tolts and Ando Keskküla. Later, Lembit Sarapuu and Giorgio de Chirico influenced me in a strange way. But  the one who finally opened my eyes, was my son August Künnapu. The paintings of this exhibition reveal the expressiveness of Tallinn through simple abstract shapes. I have met the spirits of this mystical city and I believe that they were also present during the painting process of the pictures for my jubilee exhibition, when I focused on my beloved Tallinn with special energy. I believe in good spirits and happy art. I recognize the special power of Tallinn and all of Estonia. We are witches and I'm proud of it."

Vilen Künnapu is as a very well known architect who started painting visibly and consistently only about ten years ago, yet visual art has always been a parallel path alongside his profession as an architect. In addition to the paintings known today, Vilen has also made assemblages, collages and drawings. His literary activities should be noted and his long-term work as a meritorious lecturer in several Estonian and Scandinavian universities should be emphasized. Künnapu's attractive, versatile and talented nature is significant in the cultural space here and is also under international attention. Künnapu dares to do things in his own way and in an unconventional way. In paintings, the artist is intuitive and energetic. He uses the same approach to problems and working methods in his art as in his architecture, creating his own personal city. Vilen's paintings mainly depict a city where prevail happy naivety, pure childish color schemes and architectural eclecticism. Künnapu revives in his own style the limitless idea spaces of different eras, using the city and especially his hometown Tallinn as a significant source of inspiration.