Orest Kormašov 1964 In the Yard. 2025

Orest Kormašov graduated from the State Art Institute of Estonia with a degree in painting. Early on, he became interested in various exotic architectural types; for example, he held a watercolor exhibition on Estonian manors. Depicting the old and archaic has been a deliberate focus for Kormašov, and he has studied traditional painting techniques, incorporating them into his own work. “Traditions have not exhausted themselves, which means they are necessary,” Kormašov has said. “In my paintings, I deal with personal, subjective questions, and in doing so I bring something new into the traditional visual language.”

In the Yard presents a fresh, light, and improvisational view of a rural environment. The main focal point of the painting is the colorful patches of laundry hanging on a line. The surrounding setting is rendered in dark tones, which allows the airy reds and pinks to appear even more vibrant and playful.