Endel Kõks

The Estonian art of painting of the 20.century has inseparably been connected with the local history. This not so much because of the motifs, which have been picked from the social-political context – the “obligatory” themes were implemented in art in a more active manner only in the 1940ies and in the first half of the 1950ies -, but with the shockwaves of historically significant events in private lives and fates of people. This is a century, where especially clearly can be felt the heading of a Peeter Mudist painting “Paratamatus elada ühel ajal” (“Inevitability to live at a certain period”).
So the World War II was one of the most significant events of the Estonian artistic history, the most important result of which was the forced flight of a number of painters abroad. Let us only mention Eduard Wiiralt, Karin Luts, Eduard Ole, Ants Murakin, Eerik Haamer. And Endel Kõks. From here started decades of their ignoring, but not their remaining quiet in the creative sense. Kõks and Luts, Ole and Murakin, Wiiralt and Haamer remained creatively active, in addition to painting they were also able to concentrate on organisational work and to support each other. Even though it seems from here and by using the little information we have got, that the foreign – Estonian circles formed a joint company who rarely looked outside their borders, then it is gradually becoming clearer that leaving was for many artists not taking away of freedom, but creating of freedom. And here in the first range is often mentioned the name of Endel Kõks.
“Endel Kõks is one of the few, who has found in the approximately one century old Estonian figurative art the maximal growth space for his brilliant searching spirit, has reached inexhaustible versatility and a role in the artistic integrity of cultural countries,” writes Vappu Vabar. And really: Kõks, who already received at the end of the 1930ies together with the other members of “Tartu kuldne trio” (“The golden trio of Tartu”), Lepo Mikko and Elmar Kits, the great attention of the artistic public, changed while living in Sweden considerably. In front of him opened the possibilities to breathe in one rhythm with modern trends, not speaking about his trips to the native inhabitants of North- and Latin-America. His extremely elegant taste of colour found now new challenges, which added extreme versatility to his creation. With the example of the present completely different works, we can not grasp all the key words, being characteristic to the creation of Kõks, but we can bring forward the most important ones. At the first glance there exist no joining points between these three pieces, it seems as if their authors are three different persons. But still. It is a justified remark that luckily Kõks was from one side an intellectual and a permanent experimenter, but from another side the basis of his creation was on clear grounds: on the “harmonious sense of colour and plastical sense of form”, being the fundamental truths of the Parisian school (Vappu Vabar).
“Maastikuetüüd” shows us the early Kõks. The 30-year-old artist, having graduated from “Pallas” two years prior to the completion of the work, has most probably been wandering near Tartu and has done “fieldwork”. When generally the works by Kõks, originating from the beginning of the 1940ies and the quotations of the classics of modern art, then “Maastikuetüüd” reveals us a totally different Kõks. He is sincere and direct, being able to talk during extremely difficult times of sincerity and stability. Intimate format and subtle colour culture allow to detect the exectness of an already mature artist, the impetuous interpretation of the motif self-assurance, which is connected with maturity. With this work Kõks is standing in a place, where meet traditions and the modern time, classical diving into the landscape and processing of the observed material in a purely personal view.
Two years after painting “Maastikuetüüdi”, Kõks first left for Germany, a couple years later already for Sweden, being an active organiser and critic at organising of the foreign Estonian artistic society. Already at his first post-war period we are hit by the first information vacuum, a few examples allow us to talk about the unexpected entering of tragedy and expressionism into his creation. Also the implemented techniques change: to painting is added graphical art. From 1951 Kõks settles down in Örebro, Sweden and restlessness starts to disappear gradually from his works, being replaced by continuous searches. “He becomes a student in the non-figurative class of modern art, where a considerable number of works receive the highest grades,” writes Vappu Vabar, describing well the situation. Artists seldom undertake such considerable changes and step away from the already recognised manner to a completely different one, from figurative art to the abstract one. “Abstraktsioon” (“Abstraction”), having been painted in 1950, is the stylistic example of that period. The extraordinarily strong language of colours accomplishes the susceptible sense of colour, which was acquired in pre-war “Pallas”. Still, Kõks starts to use it totally differently: in spite of depicting something, he concentrates on the actual value of the painting: on colours and forms. Expressionist occasionality and complete freedom of will are here forgotten: Kõks accurately controls the course of accomplishing of the painting, each figure and shade have a concrete place. It is a painting, where abstractionist Kõks has found an elaborate solution to all questions, a complete self-command.
In the year 1967, Kõks made a longer trip to Canada, the USA and Mexico, but the influences of this trip and also of other trips last for years. Graphical works start to include active cityscapes and city clamour, but even more is detected the use of the etnographic materials of the Mexican Indians. Still, “we must say that E.Kõks is first of all a colourist, his originality is expressed in paintings and here says also its words “Pallas” from decades ago””. So it is noticed in man-depicting paintings, how in the works by Kõks always “the colouring is finely tuned” and “the motif spirit is being entered in a sensitive manner”. Unexpected, bright and contrasting colours never leave an over-fastidious impression in case of Kõks, they are always justified. The dancer, having been accomplished in the key of modern art as a model, symbolising the joy of life and optimism, is here framed with patterns, which depict something deeply archaic. And even though at the first glance so different from “Maastikuetüüd”, Kõks has returned to the beginning. The Pallas school of colours and the possibilities to encounter directly modern art indeed brough extremely different paintings to the creation of this “incurable aesthete” (Mai Levin).
Something in common?
The trade mark
“Endel Kõks”.