STRUCTURE/METAPHYSICS – A PERSPECTIVE ON ESTONIAN CONTEMPORARY ART
PRESS RELEASE
On February 28, 1989, the STRUCTURE/METAPHYSICS exhibition opens at the Pori Art Museum, showcasing the evolution of Estonian art since the late 1970s through the works of 19 artists. The exhibition features:
Siim-Tannel Annus (performance), Jüri Arrak, Jaak Arro, Mati Karmin, Eve Kask, Jüri Kask, Ene Kull, Kaarel Kurismaa, Meari Kurismaa, Raoul Kurvits (performance), Vilen Künnapu, Leonhard Lapin, Raul Meel, Jüri Okas, Priit Pärn (short film), Raul Rajangu, Lembit Sarapuu, Andres Tolts, and Tõnis Vint.
Estonian culture, situated at the crossroads of various cultural influences, has long absorbed ideas from the East, West, North, and South. At the same time, as a small ethnic minority, Estonians have relied on their language and related cultural elements to develop mechanisms of cultural self-preservation.
The ideas and symbols in Estonian art of the past decade, including archetypal signs and multifaceted local rituals, represent a relatively new phenomenon. These elements uniquely connect Estonian art to a broader contemporary context. What is now recognized as Estonian regionalism emerged across various art forms—literature, poetry, music, and visual arts—in the late 1970s. It has served as a significant counter-reaction to the perceived threat of identity loss under the societal conditions of recent decades. The exhibition offers a perspective on the ongoing dialogue surrounding dualities such as national/international, individual/communal, and peripheral/central.
Following its presentation in Pori, the exhibition will travel to the Helsinki Kunsthalle (April 15–May 7, 1989) and the Rovaniemi Art Museum (May 12–June 25, 1989). In August and September 1989, it will be on display at the Stadtgalerie Kiel in the Federal Republic of Germany.
The Pori Art Museum will publish a catalogue in collaboration with Estonian and Finnish partners to accompany the exhibition. Contributors include essayist and poet Jaan Kaplinski, Kunst magazine editor-in-chief Sirje Helme, and art historian Eha Komissarov.
Publication:
ISBN 951-9355-21-9 Struktuuri/Metafysiikka – Näkökulmia virolaiseen nykytaiteeseen
Pori Art Museum 28.2.-2.4.1989
Editing: Marketta Seppälä
Lay-out: Jorma Hautala
Translations: Gisbert Jänicke, Jaan Kaplinski, Kari Levola, Eva Lille, Viive Taro
Photographs: Siim-Tanel Annus, Seppo Hilpo, M. Kaljuste, Borits Mäemets, Georg Poslawski, Vesa Oja, Jüri Okas, Toomas Tiivel
Publisher: Pori Art Museum
Cover: Jüri Okas ”Untitled”, 1979
Satakunnan Kirjateollisuus Oy, Pori 1989