The aesthetics of René Kari’s work are unique. The artist’s pure, exquisite painting volumes and coloured surfaces surrounded by contours model subtle spaces of experience.

Compositions built on contrasts are accompanied by the distances between glimmering lights. Seemingly abstract, flowing into each other, linear or soft shapes hide erotic forms, sometimes appearing as landscapes, sometimes as seas or clouds on the skyline. Kari has stayed faithful to certain colour combinations, varying between blue, green, and glowing red painted surfaces with delicate, pure shade games as a result of the extremely fine brushwork. His impeccable technique suggests only the touch of a brush, not a mark. René Kari’s paintings are like a mathematically precise programme of the dynamics of emotions evoked by the observation of the different forms that surround us. In these works, everything is at once both in motion and static, theoretical and calculated, yet at the same time carrying the inexplicably compelling energy of natural forces.

The exhibition ‘Another View’ brings together René Kari’s most recent and newly completed series of paintings. However, in addition to Kari’s characteristic games of painting technique, the title of the exhibition also refers to re-encounters with moments from the past in order to take another look at them. The paintings are coincidentally inspired by two of Kari’s own works. In this new presentation, they embody the artist’s re-assessing and re-painting gaze – both on the works once created and on life itself…

René Kari tells us more about how the exhibition came about:

‘Some time ago, I needed pieces of thicker paper. The postcards of my old paintings that I cut were perfect for this purpose – by chance, one of these pieces caught my eye, and it looked like a composition in itself, like a complete painting. Out of interest, I sorted through the pieces further and found lots of inspiration. These fragments inspired me to create new works. With the help of cut-outs from two postcards, I created a series of paintings that I thought deserved to be exhibited. I surprised myself by returning to my past work in this way, which on the one hand was a coincidence, but on the other hand confirms the fact that looking at the past is not just a memory of the past, but can, when approached creatively, give impetus to completely new results and values.’

René Kari has already been exhibiting since the mid-1970s, first devoting himself to painting and at the same time starting a body project with Hellenistic ideals of beauty (later photo exhibitions ‘I’m 50, 60, 70 and I like it’), which has now become Kari’s art of living, as he is forming a ‘sculpture’ of himself. The artist’s attitude towards his body is the same as his attitude towards his paintings. In both, the author strives for perfection of form. While in the body project Kari uses his own male body as a tool, in the paintings the artist focuses more on the woman, hiding her in a discreet and seemingly delicate abstract landscape.

Today, Kari has become a classic of Estonian modern art, whose creative style is clearly distinctive and meaningful, and whose works have found a place in several large-scale art collections. Haus Gallery has been collaborating with the artist for many years, valuing his works in the selection of auctions of Estonian modern art classics.