Art > Watercolor > Arno Arrak
Arno Arrak
Sündinud / Born 1963
Arno Arrak as a creator is special is his peculiar work method. It is a one-of-a-kind painting technique developed by the artist himself that can be called watercolour-monotype and has attracted considerable attention due to its blending of colours, technical intricacy and elegance. Although the author lets himself to be inspired by nature yet his watercolours are not merely blended lines of colour creating landscapes, sunrises, sunsets, rainy cloudscapes or the glowing evening horizons that are cooling off from the heat-radiating day. For the artist the colours and landscapes are only the means for opening the deeper inner worlds of thought, insights into oneself through beautiful vision-like nature. The artist tries to find the way to reach the deep harmony of the soul; tries to find the way to take him through the different states of the soul and which direction might be overwhelming peace merging into one with the world in some far-away distance. Peace that can be captured for a moment only and that through weathers, moods and emotions is fleeting and imaginary yet constant and real at the same time. Just like a moment that today at the end of the day can be unexpectedly long and seem like an instant tomorrow.
In many ways the name Arrak has obtained a somewhat symbolic meaning in the Estonian art scene. It is probably inevitable that here, too, first of all Jüri Arrak and his unmistakably original work comes to mind. And although there is no reason to speak at length about Jüri Arrak at this point, there still is a bond between Arrak and Arrak, and an extremely close one. Arno Arrak, the son of Jüri Arrak was born in 1963 in Tallinn. His father was the one to provide him with his first knowledge about art. Later Arno furthered his learning in various courses at Estonian National Art Institute, in St. Petersburg and Toronto. At the end of the 1980s the artist left Estonia. At first he settled in Sweden, later in Canada and USA.
CV
EDUCATION:
1980 |
Nude and portrait drawing studies, J.Arrak studio, Tallinn |
1981-1982 | Pre-courses at the Estonian State Art Institute, Tallinn |
1984 | Moldmaking studies, Hermitage, Leningrad |
1990 | Studies in serigraphy, Estonian State Art Institute, printmaster's studio, Tallinn |
1991 | Study of printmaking techniques, A.Flint studio, Toronto |
RESIDENCIES:
1989 | Stockholm, Sweden |
1991 | Toronto, Canada |
1996 | San Francisco, USA |
1997 | Los Angeles, USA |
2000 | Portland, USA |
PERSONAL EXHIBITIONS:
1993 | Artworks Gallery, Brampton, Canada |
Bayview Art Gallery, Toronto, Canada |
1994 | Framing and Art Centre, St. Catharines, Canada |
1995 | Gallery of the Estonian House, Toronto, Canada |
1997 | Arno Studio Galerii, Toronto, Canada |
Arno Studio Galerii, San Francisco, California |
1998 | Arno Studio Galerii, Los Angeles, California |
1999 | Prairiebrook Art Gallery, Kansas City, Kansas |
Sunyata Gallery, Los Angeles, California | |
2000 | Estonian Cultural Festival, New York |
2001 | Artique Gallery, Portland, Oregon |
City Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia |
Art Home Fine Art, Portland, Oregon | |
2002 | Art Home Fine Art, Portland, Oregon |
GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
Every year: | |
1992 - 2002 | ArtEXPO, New York |
1993 - 2002 | Atlanta ABC Show, Atlanta, Georgia |
1994 - 1997 | Galleria, New York |
1995 - 1998 | ArtEXPO, Los Angeles, California |
1992 | Gallery of the Estonian House, Toronto, Canada |
1993 | Art Expo, Anaheim, California |
Art Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany | |
Spring Exhibition of the Gallery of the Estonian House, Toronto, Canada |
1994 | Framing & Art Centre, St. Catharines, Canada |
Prisma Gallery, Toronto, Canada |
Autumn Exhibition of the Gallery of the Estonian, Toronto, Canada | |
Art Fair, Philadelphia, Delaware |
Art Expo, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
1995 | ABC Show, Orlando, Florida |
Miami Art, Miami, Florida | |
New Trends - Art Hong Kong, Hong Kong |
Art Expo, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
International Autumn, Birmingham, England |
1996 | Art Expo, Las Vegas, Nevada |
Philadelphia ABC, Philadelphia, Delaware |
Multiple Impressions, Ltd., New York | |
1997 | Dallas ABC, Dallas, Texas |
Empty Walls Gallery, Dallas, Texas | |
1998 | Art Int'l New York, New York |
1999 | Art 1999 Chicago, Chicago, Illinois |
Sacred Grounds, Los Angeles, California |
2000 | The Loft Gallery, Los Angeles, California |
2001 | ArtExpo, Los Angeles, California |
Graystone Gallery, Waterloo, Canada | |
Envers Chapin Gallery, Toronto, Canada | |
2002 | Boulevard Fine Art, Oak Park, Illinois |
Artworks Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah | |
Eclectic Framing Art, Columbus, Ohio | |
Valga Watercolor Spring, Valga, Estonia |