Siiri Jüris (MA, supervisors Jaan Elken and Veiko Klemmer) “Between Two Sides”, acrylic on canvas, Tartu Art House large gallery
Siiri Jüris’ series of portraits “Between Two Sides” shows her considerable painterly technique and touches upon psychological depths. It mesmerises us with its extensive size and variably of its models. Although anxiety and loneliness are its starting points, the series never veers into self-pity. Even if there is no light at the end of the tunnel, we are still filled with the catharsis of our struggles and the satisfaction of our knowledge that as human beings we share very many similar qualities.
Martin Urb (MA, supervisor Jaan Elken) “Õie”, oil an acrylic on canvas, Tartu Art House small gallery.
Martin Urb’s personal exhibition documents the story of his grandmother. In her high age, when personal becomes general and symbolic, the existence of such a lady as Õie has a symbolic value. The hyper-realist triptych is accompanied by a video documentary.
Kaire Nurk (MA, supervisors Jüri Kask and Leonhard Lapin) “PROCESSION. Dedicated to All Whose Palettes were Left on Toome Hill”, interactive site-specific painting installation, near the Old Anatomical Theatre of the University of Tartu.
Kaire Nurk’s performative assemblage on Toome Hill is an hommage to the Chair of Painting of the University of Tartu that resides in the Old Anatomical Theatre and is being shut down. Nevertheless, paintings palettes presented as nesting boxes atop the trees represent hope: maybe the end of one thing is the beginning of something new.
Jane Tiidelepp (BA, supervisors Jaan Elken and Rauno Thomas Moss) “Newborn in Art. DREADING LIGHT”, oil on canvas/plaster, Tartu Art House monumental gallery.
Jane Tiidelep’s dozen paintings represent newborn babies. As a mother of four children, Tiidelepp knows how arduous is childbirth since it takes place on the border between life and death. The series with its realistic figures, references to abstract expressionism and pop-art-like repetition of motif is a stunning eye-opener that is far from cuddling the viewer.
Paap Nõmm (BA, supervisor Jüri Kask) “Forms of Life”, oil on canvas, Tartu Art House monumental gallery.
Paap Nõmm’s developmental story “Forms of Life” visualises Darwin’s story of evolution in an existentialist but humorous manner. The series’ pinnacle is Nõmm’s self-portrait made in the style of Karl Pärsimägi.
Egon Erkmann (BA, supervisors Rauno Thomas Moss and Anne Parmasto) “F-O-R-E-S-T“, acrylic on canvas, Tartu Art House monumental gallery.
From a semiotic forest (the author also studied semiotics at the university) to the real forest. The five paintings of Egor Erkmann are displayed as an altar and contain figures that are representative of the tradition of depicting mythology.
Anastasia Lemberg-Lvova (BA, supervisor Jaan Elken) “Demonstrant“, oil on canvas, Tartu Art House large gallery.
Anastasia Lemberg-Lvova’s pop and hyper-realist series of large-than-life close-ups of a grimacing model depict a young man studying acting in Viljandi. Behind the distortions is a young artist with a subtle psychological approach showing us her skills in portraiture.
Anna Lumijõe (BA, supervisor Jaan Elken) “Dance with Me”, oil on canvas, Tartu Art House large gallery.
Anna Lumijõe is fascinated by dance from break to striptease. Exhibited paintings depict her models with maximum dynamism: frenetic speeds of movement are shown in a manner that has its roots in realism but has absorbed also the sub-cultural undertones from the genres that it is representing.
