{"id":4355,"date":"2026-04-17T11:02:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T11:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/soosterfoundation.org\/?p=4355"},"modified":"2026-04-22T13:37:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T13:37:54","slug":"the-results-of-the-ulo-sooster-memorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/soosterfoundation.org\/en\/the-results-of-the-ulo-sooster-memorial\/","title":{"rendered":"Results of the \u00dclo Sooster Monument Design Competition Announced"},"content":{"rendered":"

Press Release
<\/em>\n17 April 2026
<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A total of 23 entries by 19 authors were submitted to the design competition for a monument to the\nartist \u00dclo Sooster, organized jointly by Sooster Foundation and the Municipality of Hiiumaa. The\ncompetition proved both popular and of a high artistic standard, which made the jury\u2019s task of\nselecting the very best proposals from among many strong submissions far from easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The entries were evaluated by a six-member jury consisting of Tenno Pent Sooster, \u00dclo Sooster\u2019s\nheir and legal holder of the copyright, member of the Estonian Artists\u2019 Association; Kaire N\u00f5mm,\narchitect of the Municipality of Hiiumaa; Helgi P\u00f5llo, researcher at Hiiumaa Museums and cultural\nhistorian; Liisa Kaljula, Head of the Painting Collection at the Art Museum of Estonia and art historian;\nAleksander Meresaar, Head of the Sculpture Collection at the Art Museum of Estonia, art historian\nand conservator; and Mikhail Ayvazov, member of the board of Sooster Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The winning design of the competition was \u201cForms\u201d by sculptor Aleksander Litvinov and architect Tarmo \u00d5kva, which takes its point of departure\nfrom \u00dclo Sooster\u2019s painting of the same name, giving the artist\u2019s emblematic work a permanent form\nas a bronze sculpture and skillfully linking it with the public space in front of K\u00e4rdla Music School.\nOwing to the high overall quality of the submissions, the jury decided, in addition to the winner, to\ndesignate three further prize-winning places. Second prize was awarded to Viktor Kiss for \u201cThe Man\nWho Dried a Towel in the Wind\u201d, while third and fourth places were shared by Vergo Vernik, Toivo\nTammik and Andres M\u00e4gi with \u201cJunipers\u201d, and Jass Kaselaan with \u201cA Juniper Grown from the Brain\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Aleksander Litvinov\u2019s first-prize-winning design \u201cForms\u201d. Courtesy of the author.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Aleksander Litvinov\u2019s first-prize-winning design \u201cForms\u201d. Courtesy of the author.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the jury\u2019s view, it was important that the proposals for the monument to \u00dclo Sooster relate\nmeaningfully to the artist\u2019s creative legacy and demonstrate the ability to create an effective and\nmemorable work of public art that takes into account the distinctive context of Hiiumaa and fits the\nsmall-town setting of K\u00e4rdla. Jury chair Tenno Pent Sooster commented: \u201cAs there was consensus\namong the jury members that the monument should commemorate not so much \u00dclo Sooster as a\nperson, but rather his creative legacy, preference was given over figurative solutions to entries that\nengaged more closely with the symbolic language, formal imagination and creative spirit of Sooster\u2019s\nwork.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Viktor Kiss\u2019s design \u201cThe Man Who Dried a Towel in the Wind\u201d. Courtesy of the author.<\/em><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In terms of material, the jury preferred relatively low-maintenance materials that have proven their\ndurability over time and that would help ensure the long-term preservation of the monument. Jury\nmember Kaire N\u00f5mm noted: \u201cAmong the competition entries, particular attention was paid to those\nthat could speak to people passing by every day in K\u00e4rdla, including schoolchildren, and that seemed\nto have greater potential to become a meaningful landmark also for visitors to Hiiumaa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Vergo Vernik, Toivo Tammik and Andres M\u00e4gi\u2019s design \u201cJunipers\u201d. Courtesy of the authors.<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Jass Kaselaan\u2019s design \u201cA Juniper Grown from the Brain\u201d. Courtesy of the author.<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u00dclo Sooster (1924-1970) was one of the most important innovators and leading figures in Estonian\nand Eastern European art in the second half of the twentieth century. His difficult life journey took him\nfar from his birthplace on Hiiumaa - first to the Karaganda prison camp in Kazakhstan and later to\nMoscow, where he died in 1970 at the age of 46. Also dating from his mature Moscow period is\nSooster\u2019s artistically distinctive painting \u201cForms\u201d, in which his interest in surrealism and\nabstractionism merges with the juniper motif derived from Hiiumaa\u2019s nature and developed further in\nhis work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In cooperation with the Municipality of Hiiumaa, the site selected for the monument is the square at\nUus Street 4 in the centre of K\u00e4rdla, close to Sooster\u2019s former school and to several educational\ninstitutions located there today. The monument will be inaugurated in the centre of K\u00e4rdla on the\n103rd anniversary of Sooster\u2019s birth, on 17 October 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sooster Foundation
\ninfo@soosterfoundation.org
\nsoosterfoundation.org<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sooster Foundation\u041f\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0441-\u0440\u0435\u043b\u0438\u043717 \u0430\u043f\u0440\u0435\u043b\u044f 2026 \u0433\u043e\u0434\u0430 \u0412 \u043a\u043e\u043d\u043a\u0443\u0440\u0441\u0435 \u044d\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0437\u043d\u044b\u0445 \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0435\u043a\u0442\u043e\u0432 \u043f\u0430\u043c\u044f\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0430 \u0445\u0443\u0434\u043e\u0436\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0443 \u042e\u043b\u043e \u0421\u043e\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0443, \u043e\u0440\u0433\u0430\u043d\u0438\u0437\u043e\u0432\u0430\u043d\u043d\u043e\u043c \u0441\u043e\u0432\u043c\u0435\u0441\u0442\u043d\u043e Sooster Foundation \u0438 \u041c\u0443\u043d\u0438\u0446\u0438\u043f\u0430\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0435\u0442\u043e\u043c \u0425\u0438\u0439\u0443\u043c\u0430\u0430, \u043f\u0440\u0438\u043d\u044f\u043b\u0438 \u0443\u0447\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0438\u0435 23 \u043a\u043e\u043d\u043a\u0443\u0440\u0441\u043d\u044b\u0435 \u0440\u0430\u0431\u043e\u0442\u044b \u043e\u0442 19 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