Description
The book “Ülo Sooster” was prompted by the artist’s 100th birth anniversary, but in ambition and approach it is far more than a catalogue of an anniversary exhibition. It supplements, broadens and updates the reception of the major figure of Estonian art of the second half of the 20th century, offering new perspectives on his work and bringing little-known material into art-historical circulation. Ülo Sooster’s personality and legacy are exceptional in our art history: although part of Estonian art, he spent most of his life working in Moscow, where he shaped and influenced the innovative unofficial art scene. Thanks to the generosity of Sooster’s family, most of the artist’s works reached Estonia, and through exhibitions and publications his legacy has become an active influence on the later development of Estonian art.
This research volume presents Sooster as a distinctive author with encyclopaedic interests, who synthesised his own creative world from motifs of Hiiumaa’s nature and a whole range of sources of inspiration. The new approach can be linked to the decolonisation of art: earlier readings emphasised above all his role as a follower of the Western centres of Surrealism or as a representative of Moscow’s unofficial art, whereas today’s researchers see him rather as a unique artist tied to Estonian roots and traditions. Sooster’s last major catalogue appeared in 2001 and has become a bibliographic rarity.
Compilers: Liisa Kaljula, Elnara Taidre. Publisher: Estonian Art Museum, 2024. 304 pages, hardcover, 225 × 270 mm. In Estonian. ISBN 9789949687572.