The exhibition by Urmas Lüüs at Kumu explores the birth of the Estonian bourgeoisie

The exhibition The Life and Death of Mr. N: Bourgeois Spaces by Urmas Lüüs opens at the Kumu Art Museum on 4 October. The exhibition takes the visitor to the house museum of the fictitious Mr. N, which tells the story of the birth of the bourgeoisie in Estonia in the 1920s and 1930s in numerous staged rooms, with the help of new objects by Lüüs and works from museum collections.

The exhibition The Life and Death of Mr. N is not a documentary study, but is based on associations, fiction and imagination. What were the bourgeois desires and thoughts, repressed urges and creeping fears? What was in the heart of Mr. N? From what did he free himself, and what was holding him back?

“When Kumu gave me this opportunity, I took as my starting point the question that had tormented me for a long time: ‘How to cope with freedom?’”, says Urmas Lüüs. “I was reminded of Tammsaare’s statement in the third part of Truth and Justice: ‘Freedom is that strange plant that eats itself…’.”

Urmas Lüüs (b. 1987) is a visual artist based in Tallinn who has studied blacksmithing and has created large-scale installations and performances. His solo exhibitions have often had a narrative texture, introducing spatial environments where someone has seemingly resided or often visited.

Besides objects created by Urmas Lüüs, the exhibition includes artworks, furniture and other items from the collections of Estonian museum and private collections. The exhibition includes works by Eduard Wiiralt, Johannes Mülber, Oskar Kallis, August Weizenberg, Erna Kreischmann, Hando Mugasto, Endel Kõks, Amandus Adamson and many other artists.

The exhibition is curated by Eero Epner, with Oliver Kulpsoo as the lighting designer, Lauri Lest as the sound designer, Magdalena Maasik as the coordinator and Ott Metusala as the graphic designer.

The exhibition is accompanied by public and educational programmes. On Saturday, 5 October, there will be an opening programme with a guided tour of the exhibition by the artist Urmas Lüüs and the curator Eero Epner at 3 pm. On the same day at 4 pm there will also be an artist talk with Urmas Lüüs.

The exhibition The Life and Death of Mr. N: Bourgeois Spaces by Urmas Lüüs will remain open on the 3rd floor of Kumu until 16 February 2025.