The exhibition is Anu Põdra’s first major retrospective outside her homeland. The exhibition, entitled after his sculpture “Space for my body” (1995), displays more than 40 works created between 1978 and 2012 and mainly from the collections of the Estonian Art Museum, the Tartu Art Museum and from the artist’s estate.
“Põder is one of the most significant Estonian artists of the last five decades. Since the 1970s, his work has stood out for its unique execution, original concept and deeply personal content. However, since at the time it did not connect much well with the mainstream of the Estonian art scene, he remained out of the spotlight for years. Võder dealt mainly with the human body: his very eloquent sculptures underline the fragility and transience of life. Throughout his career, he used unusual materials such as fabrics, wax, plaster, soap, plastic and wood, with which she managed to create surprisingly delicate and fragile assemblages,” said exhibition curator Cecilia Alemani, who also selected Anu Põdra’s works for the 59th edition. Venice Biennale at the main exhibition.
Anu Põder (1947–2013) was a sculptor and installation artist who constantly experimented with new abstract forms and various materials, from plaster and wood to charcoal and textiles, to light, smells and tastes. Põdra’s early works concern a young woman becoming a mother and a middle-aged woman in the last years of the Soviet era, her later works comment on the processes taking place in the newly independent Estonian society.
In 2017, Kumu Art Museum organized Anu Põdra’s major retrospective “Frailty on Courage” (curator Rebeka Põldsam) and published a catalog that became an impetus for wider discovery and the artist’s international success. Anu Põdra’s work has subsequently been exhibited at the 13th Baltic Triennial in Vilnius (2018), Pori Art Museum (2019), Noisy-Le-Sec Contemporary Art Center Gallery in Paris (2019), Liverpool Biennial (2021 ), at the main exhibition of the 59th Venice Biennale (2022) and most recently in the overview exhibition Louise Bourgeois in the newly renovated National Museum in Oslo in the summer of 2023. In 2021, the second original of Anu Põdra’s work “Languages (Activated Version)” (1998) was acquired by the Tate Art Museum in London. The first original of the work is located in the Estonian Art Museum.
The exhibition “Space for my body” is open at the Susch Museum from January 3 to June 30, 2024.
2024-01-11 18:08:00
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