Kristiina Kaasik 1943–2024 Abstraction. 1990

Kristiina Kaasik graduated from the art institute specializing in theater set design, but while still a student, she joined the avant-garde group ANK ’64 as a painter. From then on, Kaasik became known primarily as a painter, drawing inspiration from natural motifs and increasingly moving toward abstract art.

A rather everyday shift brought change into Kaasik’s work. Two years before the creation of the present painting, she finally received her own studio in the Pirita state farm—an upper floor of a residential building was converted into artists’ studios. Whereas her earlier landscape paintings had been dominated by greenery, she now became captivated by the blue sky—we can see strong use of blue in this work. “It was a new experience: from the studio window, the sea and sky panorama were visible. My paintings gradually began to change, either because of the new studio or because I myself had changed by that time,” Kaasik has said.

Her explorations of abstract, bold color combinations were unusually expressive within the context of local art. The surface of the painting is marked by explosions, openings, sudden condensations, unexpected dark voids, or rapid and intense color mixtures. “It’s hard to put into words what I think; it’s better not to think at all while painting, rather I feel,” Kaasik has noted. “I believe that with color brightness, the strong energetic impact of colors, and harmonies, it is possible to transport a person to other realms. Some people will connect with your work, some will not. You cannot please everyone, and that’s true for any creation. The artist’s task is to elevate people. I want my paintings to be spatial, so that a person can almost enter them.”