Köler Prize 2011

Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia opens its 2011 season, also the year of the European Capital of Culture, with an exhibition of nominees for the Köler Prize 2011. This year marks the first time the prize is being awarded. Five rising stars of Estonian contemporary art have been nominated, artists with highly diverse and distinctive approaches and individual worldviews, all of whom have proven themselves in recent years through strong works and engaging projects. Without a doubt, these are artists whose international potential is not yet fully realized, but who have already established themselves in the Estonian art scene as original and intriguing voices. An overview of their recent work will be presented at the exhibition by Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia. Each artist will show two works or series: one that has previously been exhibited publicly, and another that is either new, not previously shown in Estonia, or created specifically for the Köler Prize.

Dénes Kalev Farkas has been active on the Estonian art scene since the early 2000s. His work, especially in recent years, engages with social, political, and economic themes, portraying the resignation of the individual in relation to public and private institutions. Although his works focus on the human condition and are marked by refined aesthetics and a minimalist poetic language, the human figure is paradoxically absent from his lightbox photographs.

Tõnis Saadoja is a painter conceptualist whose work is likewise characterized by a laconic style and extreme aesthetic refinement. His self-deconstructing authorial position, as both artist and painter, takes a new turn in this exhibition, where he surprises viewers with a slide installation.

Timo Toots has created some of the most incisive and politically charged interactive new media video installations in recent years. His work cleverly and powerfully exposes the harsh surveillance mechanisms of the control society, the gross violations of individual rights, and the transformation of quantitative information noise into tools for qualitative profiling.

Sigrid Viir, in addition to her work with the artist group Visible Solutions OÜ (with Karel Koplimets and Taaniel Raudsepp) and separate collaboration with Taaniel Raudsepp, has developed a distinctive solo career. Unlike the strongly political group works, her photographic solo practice focuses primarily on painful personal and family themes.

Jevgeni Zolotko is a young sculptor and installation artist whose works resemble remnants of a post-nuclear world, powerful dystopian allegories that, characteristic of the Tartu school, are rich in strong literary and semiotic allusions.

The works presented in the exhibition will be critically evaluated by an international expert jury. The prize fund, provided by the Estonian capital-based logistics company Smarten Logistics, amounts to €5,000 and will be awarded to the laureate at the gala on May 28. Visitors to the exhibition will also be able to choose their favorite. The audience award, worth €1,000, is sponsored by Temnikova & Kasela Gallery in cooperation with the law firm Lawin. The award will also be presented at the gala on May 28, with further details to be announced to the press separately.