Personal and Public Space in 1970s Estonian Graphics
Location: 4th floor, Cabinet of Prints and Drawings
The exhibition presents graphic art from the 1970s that countered social themes with subjectivity and surrealist tendencies. This tendency was particularly evident in the works of the following artists: Herald Eelma, Vello Vinn, Silvi Liiva, Marje Üksine, and Marju Mutsu. Intaglio printmaking, which allows for nuanced surfaces and lines, was especially well-suited for conveying personal moods.
The selection focuses on the relationship between public and personal space, and the transfer of subjectivity into the urban environment. Within the personal spaces created by the artists, there are also social allusions: the city as a machine for living is set in contrast to the individual, and the apartment building swallows its inhabitants. Alongside a rather multifaceted surrealism, this generation of graphic artists was also inspired by Op Art, metaphysical painting, and tachisme.
The thematic exhibitions in the Kumu Graphics Cabinet, which change two or three times a year, allow for a focused look at a narrower selection of phenomena and artists. The time frame spans the years 1945–1991, and the works come primarily from the Art Museum of Estonia’s graphic art collection.
Curator: Anne Untera
Exhibition design: Villu Plink
