My Story

Textile designer and viola artist Karin Sarv, still a permanent member of Estonian National Opera Symphony Orchestra, is extending her artistic vision towards design, textiles and various other materials. In recent years, design and visual art have become a significant medium to reflect and articulate her inner world. This is in dialogue, and in a way in contrast, to her musical work – a way to shape these experiences in another artistic and material form. Her artistic inquiry increasingly focuses on themes of human sustainability and ecological harmony, addressing concepts such as hope and despair, the relationship between natural and human-made environments, as well as interpersonal dynamics and narrative structures.

Artist’s Statement

Sometimes I do not speak,
because my heart has lost its voice.
But I paint and wish
for your heart to have its eyes open.

/paraphrasing Elina Naan/


Sometimes people reveal themselves to me - I empathize with them, identifying with them in a way. Through this, I experience great joy and lightness, but also sadness and pain. I channel the emotions and feelings of others— and sometimes my own—onto the canvas.
I am increasingly interested in the sustainability of humanity and the harmony of nature. Hopelessness, hope. The contrast between the natural environment and the man-made world, human relationships, and stories. Differences in how people perceive the world, combined with an era saturated by information and imagery, also create space for surrealism and abstraction to emerge. My paintings have evolved over time—shifting from capturing a fleeting emotion to something more grounded in reality, yet guided by the moment itself. Acrylics, which demand speed, are gradually giving way to the calmer pace of oils; heavy impasto and palette knives are being replaced by thinner layers and brushwork. One can increasingly see an inner turbulence seeking silence and peace.
The colors reflect a troubled mood, the fragility of transience, and that final moment when something still existed. Occasional splashes of colour and specific works hint at a growing sense of joy and lightness - hope remains.