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Peeter Laurits

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Sündinud / Born 1962

The source of criticism towards humanism in the works of Peeter Laurits does not manifest itself in melancholic escapism, but rather in a strange sense of joy. I would not go as far as saying that he celebrates nature – no, that I would not say. I have seen him stand on the stoop of his house many times, enjoying the air and glad about the disappearance of people. (Damn, why did I even start to think that he would celebrate anything.) The background of Laurits’ work is well known to us. Some time during the 1990s he was actively engaged in demolishing all sorts of urban pictorial noise, was pulling all kinds of semiotic stunts – and he was doing well. And suddenly. One day he moved out into the countryside and from that time on he has taken a plunge into a complex labyrinth, running into mythologies and nature, people and animals, esoterics and scepticism, irony and criticism, ambivalence and surrealism in its winding passages. Why call all of that criticism of humanism? There are many reasons why.

 

since 1979	Art studies with private teachers
1981–1991	independent studies in Tartu and Leningrad State Universities, Estonian Humanitarian Institute and libraries - the history of culture and semiotics
1982–1983	Tallinn's 2nd technical School – photography
1991–1992	International Center of Photography of New-York – photography
1984–1987	Harju Elekter, photographer and advertismet designer
1987 –1991	Estonian Drama Theatre, photographer
1992–1996	DeStudio - on of art directors
since 1997	founder and director of Kütioru Atelier, freelance artist and Estonian Artist Union member

solo exhibitions

2008	“õõv@veetlus” (with Herkki Erich Merila), Vaal Gallery Tallinn
2007	“Minu kodu” Võru City Gallery “Laste Maailm / Viies aastaaeg”, Laste Maailma Gallery, Tallinn; Pärnu New Art Museum
2006	“Lopéz & Laurits” (with Marcos Lopéz), Tallinn Art Hall
2005	"Old Labyrinth" ArtDepoo Gallery, Tallinn "In the shadow of masterpieces" (with Laurentsius) Art Museum of Kadriorg, Tallinn "Floating Labyrinth" (with Katz) SEB Ühispank Gallery, Tallinn "Floating Labyrinth" (with Katz) Pavlov Medialab, Groningen, Holland "The Flood", Pärnu Museum of New Art, Pärnu
2004	"Eating with warms " (with Ain Mäeots) Giedre Bartelt Gallery, Berlin "The Flood", Ancien Preche, Pontorson, France "Eating with warms " (with Ain Mäeots) Vaal Gallery, Tallinn, Pärnu Museum of New Art, House of artists in Tartu, Viljandi City Gallery, Haapsalu City Gallery, Museum of Võru "Eating with warms " (with Ain Mäeots) The Ragged School Gallery, London
2003	"Eating with warms ", (with Ain Mäeots) Helsinki Botanic Garden, Finland "Pietá ja Sky Atlas", Pärnu City Gallery
2002	The Flood/Odiluvio Museu d'Agua, Lisboa, Portugal The Flood, Tallinn Art Hall Gallery "Restoration of Tallinn" (with Ulvi Tiit & Madis Palm), "Tallinn" nightclub, Tartu "The Flood", FotoFo, Pallfyhu Loss, Bratislava, Slovakia
2001	Birthday of Eternity II, Estonian Bank Gallery, Tallinn  Birthday of Eternity, Estonian Bank Gallery, Tallinn
2000	Par Avion (with Herkki Erich Merila), The Living Art Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland Psühosoikum, Tallinn City Gallery, Estonia
1999	Lunaatika(with Herkki Erich Merila), Pärnu City Gallery, Estonia  Asphaltsafari Voru museum, Estonia
1998	EE-LV (with Herkki Erich Merila), Estonian Embassy in Riga, Latvia  The Atlas of Skies 2, Museum of Architecture, Tallinn, Estonia  The Atlas of Skies 1, Vaal Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia
1997	Postcards From Kütiorg, Estonian Mission at the European Union, Brussels, Belgium  The Suit of Adam (with Herkki Erich Merila), Estonian Mission at the European Union, Brussels, Belgium
1996	Estonian Architects (with Herkki Erich Merila), Museum of Architecture, Tallinn, Estonia  The Familiy of Adam (with Herkki Erich Merila), Tallinn City Gallery, Estonia
1995	Metamorphoses (with Herkki Erich Merila), Nordic Council of Ministers Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
1993	Diseases & Metamorphoses II (with Herkki Erich Merila), Luum Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia Diseases & Metamorphoses I (with Herkki Erich Merila), Lee Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia
1990	Concerto Grosso, Illegaard Gallery, Tartu, Estonia
1988	Sixteen Pictures, Kiek in de Kök Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia

group exhibitions

2008	“Impact”, Väliskunsti museum, Riga “Balti Pop”, Giedre Bartelt galerii, Berlin
2007	“Poliitiline ja poeetiline”, Tallinn Graphic Triennal, Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn “Impact 5”, Rotermanni Salt Storage, Tallinn “Man and Woman”, Pärnu New Art Museum “Jätkusuutlikkuse kunst”, Abbekas Gallery, Abbekas & Lund, Sweden “Keskkonnaarheoloogia” Retretti Museum, Finland “Collected Crises II”, Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn
2006	“Documenta 12” Magazine project “Homo Grandis Natu”, Venemaa Humanitaarinstituut, Moskva “Collected Crises I”, Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn
2005	"Baltic Photo Trienniale ", Tammsaare Museum, Tallinn "18 rooms", apartment exhibitions tape , Sakala 9, Tallinn "Kunst in der Karlshütte" festival, Germany, Frankfurt Artfair "Neue Horizonte entdecken", Weltkulturerbe Zollverein, Schacht XII, Halle 5, Essen "1965-2005. Pictures from Sammelselg collection ", Vaal gallery, Tallinn "Homo Grandis Natu", Tallinn Art Hall "CDH-2005" Spring Salon, Central House of Artists, Moskva "Identities", Tallinn Art Hall "1001 Reasons to Love the Earth", Leeuwenbergh's Center, Utrecht, Holland
2004	"Ecology and Art", Central House of Artists, Moscow "Quand L'Art Change la Baie", Normandie festival, France "First Assembly", The Ragged School Gallery, London
2003	"1001 reasons to Love Earth", Seoul, South Korea "Green wave", Tallinn Art Hall "XXL" Tartu Art Hall "Arte Factum" Vilniaus Fotografijos Galeri, Lithuania "(un)dressed Body", Giedre Bartelt Gallery, Berlin "Printmaking in Europe: Trends and Perspectives", Cadiz, Hispaania "3+7+12. Dust." Ühispank gallery, Tallinn
2002	"Capital", Estonian Museum of Art "Printmaking in Europe: Trends and Perspectives", Thessalonica, Greece "The Roead to Setumaa", Obinitsa, Estonia "New Beautiful Life", Draakon Gallery, Tallinn "Male and Female in Surrealism", Pärnu Museum of New Art "IDNA", 7. International Festival of Ethnic Futurism, Izhevsk, Udmurtia "The Globe is Round ", Kiriküüt, ökoloogilise kunsti festival, Viljandi "Closing the Distance" Laznia Center for Contemporary Art, Gdansk, Poland International Young Art 2002 ArtLink/Sothebys, Tel Aviv, New York, Amsterdam
2001	Summer-autumn-winter-spring, Deco gallery, Tallinn, Estonia Babylon, City gallery, Tallinn, Estonia Changing Image, XII Tallinn Graphic Triennale, Estonia Conditionally Existing. Conditionally Unexisting, XII Tallinn Graphic Triennale, Estonia Animal Castle of Kuressaare, Estonia
2000	Red, The White Salon of the Black Heads House, Tallinn, Estonia Duchamp's Suitcase Arnolfini Art Center, Bristol, England Visiting-Card, City Museum of Narva, Estonia Estonian Photo, Mai Mano Gallery, Budapest, Hungary  Artgenda, Glass-Hall, Helsinki, Finland  Ugriculture 2000, Gallen-Kallela Museum, Helsinki, Finland  AIDS in Culture, Rottermann's Salt Storage, Tallinn, Estonia
1999	Diaspora, Oviedo, Spain  Erootika, Tallinn Art Hall, Estonia
1998	Out of the Shadow, North Carolina University, USA  Freedom of Choice, Tallinn Art Hall, Estonia  The Return of the Past - the End of Utopias, Danish Embassy in Paris, France
1997	Artsummer, Endla Theatre, P'rnu, Estonia  The Return of the Past - the End of Utopias , Helsinki Art Hall, Finland; Tallinn Art Hall, Estonia; Galeria Miejska, Poznan, Poland  Persona, Estonian Art Museum, Tallinn
1996	The Return of the Past - the End of Utopias, Castle of Gottorf, Schleswig-Holstein. Haus am Waldsee, Berlin. Japanisches Palais, Dresden, Germany
1995	Biotopy, Tallinn Art Hall, Estonia  Factory of History, Saaremaa Biennale, Castle of Kuressaare, Estonia Self-Portrait, Kuznechki Most Gallery, Moscow, Russia
1994	Unexisting Art, Estonian Institute of history, Tallinn, Estonia  Europa-Europa, Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle, Bonn, Germany Baltic Photography, Galleria Finnfoto, Helsinki, Finland
1993	Substance-Unsubstance, Tallinn Art Hall, Estonia Memory of Images, Kiel, Rostock, Berlin, Germany; Riga, Latvia; Vilnius, Lithuania,Gdansk, Poland; Copenhagen, Denmark Myra, Tallinn Art Hall, Estonia
1992	Contemporary Baltic Photography, Odense Photographic Museum, Denmark Erotica Ultima Thule, CB's 313 Gallery, New York, USA Images From Borderlands, Saaremaa Photo Festival, Kuressaare, Estonia  Always Yours, Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago, USA
1991	Contemporary Soviet Photography ,Rosa Esman Gallery, New York, USA Photographers Estoniens, Charleroy Photographic Museum, Belgium.  Contemporary Soviet Photography, Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago, USA
1990	Iisalmen Camera Festival, Iisalmi, Finland Diffraction Only-Contemporary Lensless Photographers, Annie Gentils Gallery, Antwerpen, Netherlands
1989 1988	Confused Times, travelling exhibition in Finland.  Le Theatre Dans L'Art Photographique, Sterijino Pozorje Biennale,Yugoslavia Baltic Photo Trienniale, A.H. Tammsaare Museum, Tallinn, Estonia

works in collections

Estonian Art Museum, Tallinn; Estonian Photographic Museum, Tallinn; Estonian Museum of Architecture, Tallinn; Fund of Tallinn Graphic Trienniale, Tallinn; Pinhole Resource, San Lorenzo, New Mexico; Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago, USA; Benziger Imagery Collection, Glen Ellen Winery, California, USA; Matti Milius private collection, Tartu, Estonia; Tartu Art Museum, Estonia; Helsinki Museum of Contemporary Art, Finland; Norton Dodge Collection, New York, USA

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