Exhibition > Past > Haus Gallery

ok_na_569.jpg

Haus Gallery 16.01.2024

HAUS GALLERY

MONUMENTAL

On painting through the big format

The new exhibition at Haus Gallery explores the format of paintings, exhibiting large and small format paintings in close proximity, based on the principle of contrast. Playing with formats creates an understanding of the possible architectural and spatial contexts that a painting can emphasise.

The current exhibition presents the following selection of authors who are all known creators of monumental paintings in the Estonian art landscape, having found an individual and a unique approach to the big format:

Paul Allik, Vano Allsalu, Siim-Tanel Annus, Jaan Elken, Mauri Gross, Ivar Kaasik, Epp-Maria Kokamägi, Paul Kormašov, Laurentsius, Maarit Murka, Mall Nukke, Anne Parmasto, Sirje Petersen, Juss Piho, Jane Remm, Tarmo Roosimölder, Katrin ja Sven Saag

The following text is a small excursion into art history and the present day, where you will naturally find endless examples of the importance of format in art.

Generally, the size of the paintings has been dictated either by architecture, the power and might of the one who commissioned it, or the propagandistic desire of an empire to perpetuate its historical triumphs on a monumental scale. 

So let us start with the painting of the Coronation of Napoleon (1807). The artist Jean-François David was invited to the event held at Notre-Dame, and in his depiction of French high society in party dress, he did not hold back in his praise. The painting measures an awe-inspiring 6.21 x 9.79 metres.

At the Louvre Museum in Paris, a gold frame adds even more magnitude to the painting, and if you want to get an idea of how big it really is, you have to look at a photo of the painting with people standing next to it.

Paintings of this kind are inspired by great powers with imperial ambitions and their historical events. The reason that there is no comparable painting in Estonian culture is simple – our history has simply been different.

But wait – we could still compare David with the Tallinn-born Renaissance artist Michel Sittow (1469–1525). Research of his art on an international level was initiated by the Art Museum of Estonia. Sittow moved within the royal courts of his time and painted the high societies of Spain, Austria, and Denmark. And yet, his portrait paintings are small-format and intimate – they need to be viewed up close, as can be seen from this KUMU video clip from 2018.

Generally, the dimensions of the original work are not usually given much attention, although they can be important and meaningful. What happens, for example, if we cannot take a look at the original painting, and the work is only available via reproduction or screen? Then, it may happen that the dimensions of the work of art can start playing tricks on the viewer’s perception.

During the Soviet era, when one had to study the art history of the world via book reproductions of not perhaps the best printing quality, one formed an impression of the works. This impression was often based on the importance of the work. For example, British pop artist Richard Hamilton’s 1956 work Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?, always reproduced in art history books of the 20th century. American pop art got its name from the racket, or giant lollipop, depicted in the man’s hand, but not in a serious manner, but in good English humour, aimed at Americans. In books, the image was printed larger, and on the screen it also looks large, giving the impression of a large-format and all-around important work. However, when you see the original work in the art museum, it turns out to be just a small collage, cheaply pasted together.

In the 1960s, pop artists began to play with proportions in a humorous way, depicting small, cheap everyday objects as huge and precious. The dimensions of the work of art became the central theme of art itself. As such, Roy Lichtenstein corrected individual comic strips to make them sharper and better, then enlarged them onto canvas, using oil colours to paint the small, cheap images into large, expensive paintings that, when exhibited in a museum setting, compete with the famous paintings of earlier centuries in terms of dignity.

Throughout history, however, the format of paintings has been dictated by architecture. For example, a fresco is painted directly onto a wall in wet plaster and therefore, the size of frescoes follows the architecture. To see the works of Giotto, Italy’s great 14th-century early Renaissance painter, you must travel to Italy.

In the 20th century, we know there was a dramatic increase in formats in American abstract painting in the 1940s, compared to European painting in the 1930s. There were reasons for this, too – America’s emergence from the war on the winning side, the rise of the dollar into the world’s principal reserve currency, the construction of skyscrapers, and an increase in commissions for large paintings. This short video presents Jackson Pollock’s largest format painting from 1943.

In Estonia, the situation is governed by law. In Estonia, the Commissioning of Artworks Act, or the Percent for Art Act, as it is colloquially known, requires that one per cent of the cost of every new building constructed by the state must go to a work of art. As such, by today, a lot of new art has already been created for public spaces using different techniques. If you look at Merike Estna’s painting for the Viljandi State Upper Secondary School from 2015, the format and colouring are indeed important here, so that the art of painting would assert itself in the architecture of the new building and in the visual memory of young people.

The exhibition will stay open until the 2nd of March.

Curator: Piia Ausman

Text: Heie Marie Treier

< back

Paul Allik

Helena
Paul Allik Helena 2000. Oil, canvas 40 x 50 cm (not framed) price 2 700
Nude on Black (Morning III)
Paul Allik Nude on Black (Morning III) 1999. Oil, acrylic, canvas 30 x 31.5 cm (not framed) price 1 600
Composition
Paul Allik Composition 1995. Oil, canvas 45 x 35 cm (not framed) price 2 000
Play On Silver II
Paul Allik Play On Silver II 2000. Acrylic, canvas 40 x 30 cm (not framed) price 2 400

Vano Allsalu

Thaw
Vano Allsalu Thaw 2020. Acrylics, canvas 180 x 200 cm (not framed) price 9 000

Siim-Tanel Annus

(sold)Genesis 2
Siim-Tanel Annus Genesis 2 2019. Acrylics, canvas 62.5 x 58 cm (not framed) price 1 700
From the Series
Siim-Tanel Annus From the Series "Ilmapuu" I 2021. Acrylic, oil, mixed media, wooden panel 125 x 115 cm (not framed) price 7 200
From the Series
Siim-Tanel Annus From the Series "Ilmapuu" II 2021. Acrylic, oil, mixed media, wooden panel 125 x 115 cm (not framed) price 7 200

Jaan Elken

When Strontium Meets Cadmium, Titanium White Mixed Both
Jaan Elken When Strontium Meets Cadmium, Titanium White Mixed Both 2022. Acrylic, mixed media, canvas 100 x 80 cm (not framed) price 4 400
Glacier II
Jaan Elken Glacier II 2022. Acrylic, collage, canvas 120 x 150 cm (not framed) price 7 500
(sold)New York. New York!
Jaan Elken New York. New York! 2019-2020. Acrylic, collage, canvas 135 x 150 cm (not framed)

Mauri Gross

(sold)Circle
Mauri Gross Circle 2023. Oil, canvas 180 x 160 cm (not framed)

Ivar Kaasik

Abstract 1
Ivar Kaasik Abstract 1 2015. Acrylic, canvas 100 x 90 cm (not framed) price 1 500
Abstract 2
Ivar Kaasik Abstract 2 2015. Acrylic, canvas 100 x 90 cm (not framed) price 1 500

Miljard Kilk

(sold)Diana and Actaeon
Miljard Kilk Diana and Actaeon 2006. Oil, canvas 132.5 x 173 cm (framed)

(sold)Sunflowers
Epp-Maria Kokamägi Sunflowers 1997. Oil, canvas 150 x 150 cm (framed)

Paul Kormašov

0910
Paul Kormašov 0910 2022. Acrylic, canvas 140 x 149 cm (framed) price 3 800
(sold)Up
Paul Kormašov Up 2023. Acrylic on canvas 115 x 130 cm (framed)

Laurentsius

(sold)Like a Bird IV
(Lauri Sillak) Laurentsius Like a Bird IV 2018. Acrylic, canvas 195 x 195 cm (not framed)

Maarit Murka

(sold)Green
Maarit Murka Green 2015. Oil, canvas 135 x 260 cm (framed) price 9 000

Mall Nukke

At the Edge of the Cloud 2
Mall Nukke At the Edge of the Cloud 2 2021. Oil, canvas 90 x 135 cm (not framed) price 5 900

Anne Parmasto

Ronda Corrida I
Anne Parmasto Ronda Corrida I 2016. Oil, canvas 110 x 90 cm (not framed) price 4 700
Ronda Corrida II
Anne Parmasto Ronda Corrida II 2016. Oil, canvas 110 x 90 cm (not framed) price 4 700

Sirje Petersen

On the Road
Sirje Petersen On the Road 2020. Oil, canvas 90 x 120 cm (not framed) price 4 700
Stormy
Sirje Petersen Stormy 2019. Oil, canvas 90 x 120 cm (not framed) price 4 700
(sold)A Dream
Sirje Petersen A Dream 2022. Oil, canvas 40 x 50 cm (not framed)

Juss Piho

The Situation
Juss Piho The Situation 2023. Oil on canvas 200 x 100 cm (not framed)

Jane Remm

A Birch in Järvselja
Jane Remm A Birch in Järvselja 2019. Oil, canvas 195 x 70 cm (not framed) price 3 800
Tangles. Private Property
Jane Remm Tangles. Private Property 2016. Oil, canvas 130 x 130 cm (not framed) price 5 400

Tarmo Roosimölder

Water Buffalo
Tarmo Roosimölder Water Buffalo 2023. Oil, canvas 99 x 99 cm (not framed) price 3 200

Katrin ja Sven Saag

Irises
Katrin ja Sven Saag Irises 2023. Oil, canvas 90 x 55 cm (not framed) price 2 700
Wolf's Bane
Katrin ja Sven Saag Wolf's Bane 2022. Oil, acrylic, canvas 180 x 83 cm (not framed) price 4 300