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august künnapu

06.02.1978

 I believe that Künnapu is a lot shrewder. He does not strive for the absolute sincerity. He is too interested in colour, dynamics, shifts in space and other such things. Künnapu controls what he does – and controls it well. To me it’s not a question whether Künnapu is a naivist or not. And perhaps the whole question should be rephrased.
Let’s try. So: The question is not whether Künnapu is a naivist. The question is: what does Künnapu use his naiveté for. I think that he uses it to up the emotional high. His quest for simplicity does not include simplifying the essence. Using very pure forms and very clean colours, Künnapu achieves environments that appear very outspoken. You can certainly apply some intellectual effort to his paintings. Of course; why not? You can analyze, measure, structurize and so on. But it seems that the art Künnapu tries to move towards would be as filter-free as possible. Move where the cultural code would disturb our line of sight as little as possible. Where the things we see would indeed be the things we see. The emotional high will thereby become immediate, not mediated. Smack! Right there!

 

1996	gratuated from Tallinn Secondary School No 21
1991–1996	studied at Tallinn Art School
1991–1996	published youth magazine "Suri Muri" with Tim Kolk
1996–1997	studied at the Estonian Institute of Humanities
1997–2000	studied architecture and painting at the Estonian Academy of Arts
2000	studied art at the Slade School of Fine Art – the Slade Summer School UCL, London
2000–2002	M.A.-studies at Estonian Academy of Arts

personal exhibitions

2008	Naerukuu aprill, Viimsi koduloomuuseum, Estonia 24 Hour Gallery Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament), Tallinn, Estonia
2007	Hobusepea Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia Pärnu City Gallery, Estonia Paide Vallitorn, Estonia Vaal Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia
2006	Artdepoo Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia Architecture and Design Gallery (with Vilen Künnapu), Tallinn, Estonia Artdepoo, Tallinn, Estonia
2005	Tallinn City Gallery
2004	Viinistu Art Museum, Estonia Ugala theatre gallery, Viljandi, Estonia 24 H Gallery
2003	Estonian Bank, Tallinn, Estonia Endla Theatre (with Tarvo Hanno Varres), Pärnu, Estonia Hobusepea Gallery (with Arne Maasik), Tallinn, Estonia
2002	Jazz Café, Pärnu, Estonia
2001	Gallery "Vaal", Tallinn, Estonia

group exhibitions

2007	Black and White. Ibid Projects, London, UK How Men Are. Sartorial Contemporary Art Gallery, London, UK
2006	The Library Project, Rael Artel Gallery, Tartu, Estonia
2005	Ajaleht eesti kunstis. Vaal Gallery, Tallinn; Pärnu City Gallery; Viljandi City Gallery; Tartu Art House; Rakvere Theatre; Adamson-Eric Museum, Tallinn; Art Gallery of Narva Museum Night on Earth, Oxford House, London, GB Future Pavilion, Taiwan Design Expo 2005, Kaoshioung, Taiwan
2004	Mothers, Oxford House, London, GB Mothers, North Edinburgh Arts Centre, GB
2003	Meeting Place, travelling exhibition of young Baltic and Scandinavian artists, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, Norway Modern Baltic Paintings, Filosofgangen, Odense, Denmark Technopolis, Athens, Greece Last Hero, Rotermann's Salt Storage, Tallinn, Estonia Someplace Unreachable, IBID Projects, London, GB
2002	"Elav klassika" with Raoul Kurvitz, Urmas Muru, Peeter Pere, Lilian Mosolainen, Tiina Tammetalu, Vilen Künnapu, Mihkel Mutt and Ken Saan; Haapsalu City Gallery, Haapsalu, Estonia Two-dimensional Houses: Architectural Photo from 1860s until today, Rotermann's Salt Storage, Tallinn, Estonia Recovery, North-Estonia Regional Hospital, Mustamäe Buiding New Old School, IBID Projects, Vilnius, Lithuania  Contemporary Baltic Art, Byggeriets Hus of Frederiksberg, Kopenhaagen, Denmark Annual Painting Exhibition, Tallinn Art Hall, Estonia
2001	"Young British Art", Tallinn Art Hall, Estonia "Kalamaja" with Karli Luik and Toomas Paaver, Estonian Academy of Arts, Tallinn, Estonia Wallpaintings at oil shale factory at Kohtla, with Renee Puusepp Greetings From London (with Casagrande Laboratory), Selfridges, London, GB
2000	"AIDS in Culture", Rotermann's Salt Storage, Tallinn, Estonia short film "Lasnamäe", Artgenda, Helsinki, Finland Estonian Academy of Arts, Tallinn, Estonia Slade Gallery, London, Great Britain Slade School of Fine Art, London, Great Britain
1999	Annual Painting Exhibition, Tallinn Art Hall, Estonia
1997	"Kopli, Kalamaja ning veel" with Külli Mariste, Jan Kaus, Estonian Institute of Humanities, Tallinn, Estonia
1996	installation "Admiral's Box" with Urmas Luure, Nordic-Baltic Architectural Triennial, Tallinn, Estonia

curator projects
 

2002	Recovery, North-Estonia Regional Hospital, Mustamäe Buiding

prizes

2007 The Konrad Mägi painting prize

publications

2007	August Künnapu (painting catalogue) (Epifanio)
2006	"Image" (Radisson SAS) August Künnapu & Vilen Künnapu "Common Field" (Epifanio) Andrus Elbing "Ciao, it's Babyface! Trouble from the Streets of a Blind City" (Epifanio) 2006
2005	Night on Earth (Harry Pye & His Friends) 22 Young Estonian Artists (Estonian Academy of Arts)
2004	Mothers (Harry Pye & His Friends) Ruth Huimerind "Koka kunst" (MAP Eesti AS)
2003	Vikerkaar/Raduga 3/2003 (Estonian literary magazine) Riigikogu Toimetised 7/2003 Reeli Kõiv, Mare Joonsalu "Lapsepõlv. Laps Eesti kunstis" ("Childhood. Child in Estonian Art") Lastekaitse Liit
2002	Meeting Place. North European Contemporary Art
2001	Vilen Künnapu "Across the Red River. Selected Texts 1972–2001", Tallinn

articles

2001	'August Künnapu "Young British Art" kunst.ee 2/2001 2001 August Künnapu "Dennis Hopper" kunst.ee 3/2001
2002	August Künnapu "Golden Fields at Kohtla" kunst.ee 4/2001
2003	"August Künnapu"s Interview With Himself" Estonian Art 2/2003 "511 Best Photographs of Mars" Estonian Art 2/2003
2004	"Outhouse" Estonian Art 2/2004 "The New Face of Rakvere" Estonian Art 2/2004

films

2003	Architectural Space in the Basque Country
2002	Gordon Matta-Clark Donald Judd Rachel Whiteread (M.A.- work)

works in collections

Tartu Art Museum; Viinistu Art Museum; Hotel-sanatory Rüütli, Kuressaare; Starman, Tallinn; Radisson SAS, Tallinn; private collections in Estonia, Denmark and USA

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