Kaljo Põllu was an Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

n artist. In 1962 he received a diploma in glass art, and became director of art cabinet of Tartu State University; he founded the contemporary artist's group Visarid in 1966 in Tartu. In 1973 he moved to Tallinn

Tallinn

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...

, where from 1975 to 1996 he taught drawing in the Estonian Art Academy; at this point his art changed in style dramatically as he searched for influences from the ancient Finno-Ugric

Finno-Ugric peoples

The Finno-Ugric peoples are any of several peoples of Europe who speak languages of the proposed Finno-Ugric language family, such as the Finns, Estonians, Mordvins, and Hungarians...

 culture.

In 2007 the University of Tartu

University of Tartu

The University of Tartu is a classical university in the city of Tartu, Estonia. University of Tartu is the national university of Estonia; it is the biggest and highest-ranked university in Estonia...

gave Põllu their "Contribution to Estonian National Identity" award.

Creative career

• 1959–1962 first independently created graphic and painting works during studies in the art academy

Tartu period

• 1962–1975 graphic works on impressions from travels in Estonia, Koola peninsula and Transcaucasia
• 1963–1972 abstract, pop-like and op-like graphic artwork and paintings
• 1967–1972 establishing and directing the artistic group "Visarid"
• 1973–1975 collection "Kodalased" ("People at Home") of mezzotinto graphic works (25 works)

Tallinn period

• 1978–1984 collection "Kalivägi" ("Kali People") of mezzotinto graphic works (65 works)
• 1987–1991 collection "Taevas ja maa" ("Heaven and Earth") of mezzotinto graphic works (40 works)
• 1991–1995 collection "Kirgastumine" ("Enlightenment") of mezzotinto graphic works (47 works)
• 1994–2008 created more than 100 paintings on figurative impossibleness and seemingly three-dimensionality
• 1998–2003 establishing and directing the artistic group "YDI"

Personal exhibitions outside Estonia (selection; all graphics exhibitions)

• 1972 exhibition of ex libris by Kaljo Põllu in Frederikshaven (Denmark)
• 1972 exhibition of graphics together with Allex Kütt in the central exhibition hall of all-Soviet Artists Union (25 Gorki Str., Moscow)
• 1984 exhibitions in the library of Helsinki University (Finland) and in Stavanger (Norway)
• 1985 exhibition in Jyväskylä (Finland)
• 1986 exhibition in Södertäle Art Hall (Sweden)
• 1987 exhibitions in Kymenlaakso (Finland); in Göteborg Art Museum, Västerbotten and in Örebro (Sweden)
• 1989 exhibition in Alta (Norway)
• 1990 exhibitions in Suomi Gallery and in Folkens Museum (both in Stockholm, Sweden); in Nordic House (Reykjavik, Iceland); during the VII Internation Fenno-Ugric Congress in Debrecen (Hungary)
• 1991 exhibitions in Oulu town library and in the art gallery "Pinacotheca" of Jyväskylä University (Finland); in Szombathelys (Hungary)
• 1992 exhibitions in Qaqortoq (Greenland/Denmark); in Seattle and Hancock-Michigan (USA); in Sorbonne Centre of Paris University (France)
• 1993 exhibition in Palm Beach Community College Florida (USA)
• 1994 exhibitions in Grazi Minorite Monastery (Austria), in Kammel Dok architecture centre (Copenhagen, Denmark)
• 1995 exhibitions in Finnish embassy in Paris (France), in Museum für Völkerkunde (Wien, Austria), during the VII International Fenno-Ugric Congress in Jyväskylä (Finland), in Barcelona University (Spain)
• 1996 exhibition in Sevilla and Salamanca University (Spain)
• 2001 exhibition in Budapest (Hungary)
• 2002 exhibition in Dublin National Theatre (Ireland)

Exhibition catalogues published outside Estonia about Kaljo Põllu

There have been published approx. 30 titles on Kaljo Põllu's artwork in newspapers and journals outside Estonia.