Valdur Ohakas
(1925–1998)
Boat Ramp. 1957
Oil, plywood. 37.5 x 50.5 cm (framed)
price 4 200
Valdur Ohakas was released from a prison camp in 1956, and when he returned to Estonia he dreamed of continuing as an artist. However, the intervening years had brought an interruption, he was not able to work consistently, and therefore we can also foresee a self-discovery in this work. Sitting in or near Tartu on the banks of the Emajõgi River, Ohakas has, on the one hand, continued his Pallasian search for nature, but only at the level of motif. Formally, Ohakas is already searching for a new path, generalising and experimenting. The brushstrokes are broad and impulsive, and many of the tones (such as the violet of the river) are unexpectedly sudden. We see how a sincere and intimate view of nature is also a platform for the artist’s self-discovery.