From August 31th you are welcome to enjoy Jaan Elken’s solo exhibition “WATER”.

 

Jaan Elken is one of Estonia's most influential painters who entered Estonian art scene in the 2^nd half of the 1970ies when the artist, having graduated from Estonian State Institute of Art as an architect, started to create hyperrealistic paintings stemming from the genius loci of urban environment. Scanty possession of certain “classic” painting techniques and choosing the photographic coldness over expressive poetry allowed Elken to be considered an artist who reflects the alienation of modern man. Yet it can be presumed that like those of other Estonian hyperrealists also Elken's paintings were not emphasizing the lack of passion or cynically indifferent, containing both references (sometimes romantic) to urban mythology as well as certain “charting of subjective emotions” (Mari Laanemets).

 

In the 2nd half of the 1980ies Elken's creative work shifted to abstractionism. In some sense the current exhibition “Water” is the artist's wish to revisit that crucial period of such importance in his artwork today: “From the 2nd half of the 80s up to mid 90s I painted water; those abstractions have also been called marines. Through water I broke myself out of realism; the current re-writing/re-painting is sort of like reversing the process; let's see where the journey takes me...”

 

 

 

With a giant composition consisting of six large-scale paintings the artist creates an illusion of enormous water in the gallery hall.

Through such huge dimensions Elken formulates water as a symbol – as something that in its nature is both universal and present everywhere yet also primeval and uncontrollable; as something that is irresistibly unavoidable in its natural everyday state as well as unmanageable in its force:

“Water covers approximately 70% of the Earth's surface. Water is the foundation of everything alive on earth. Water is one of the best and most common solvents. Lots of chemical substances – gaseous, liquid or solid - dissolve very well in water. Acrylic paints that I use for painting are water soluble.

Tsunamis, floods and hurricanes reveal the several meanings of water as the primeval and uncontrollable force of nature. On board of a ship returning from Japan I have been fascinated watching a storm where the length of over a 100 meter ship was broken into two waves...”

 

 

Artist talk will take place in ArtDepoo on  September 10^th at 5pm supervised by the art historian Andri Ksenofontov.

 

The exhibition will be open until September 25^th .