Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Mixed media on paper. 1954.
Signature: EKõks54

The self-portrait of Endel Kõks (1912-1983), who had lived in exile for ten years by this point, is a thought-provoking piece. Kõks, who finally reached Sweden through Germany, is still relatively young in age but he already presents himself as an experienced and thoughtful person, surrounded by modern abstract art. This conceptual self-portrait is about the existential choices and reflections of a person who studied a completely different art at Pallas and related to a different artistic ideal in a new situation, where not only is the homeland different but so is the entire artistic landscape.

Endel Kõks quickly adapted to new trends in exile, as if consciously defying the restrictions placed on the art scene in his homeland. This print also reflects the angular, expressive formation of forms a la Bernard Buffet of the Parisian figurative art school of the time. The background of the self-portrait is a modern mosaic in the form of geometric abstraction.

Text: Harry Liivrand