Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Oil on cardboard. 1965/66
Signature: “Hele meri“ 1965/66  Õli kartong 30.5 x 61 H. Roode 1924

Based on a realistic motif, Henn Roode (1924-1974) who would have turned 100 years old this year, has given the viewer a metaphor for the elements of nature. By fusing impressionism and abstraction, bringing the horizon of the shore very low and giving the matter of water a dominant position in the composition, Roode creates the impression that the sea has risen above the land and we ourselves are standing in front of this powerful spectacle of nature.

The resulting sea and sky are full of power and movement, which is in turn emphasized by the free brushwork. A uniquely gifted deformer of forms, he constructs visual eye-distorters from objects lying on the shore. Do we see upside-down boats here or net sheds? In any case, they also reference blue, black and white – a risky and yet deeply meaningful move for a man who had been released from a prison camp only a few years earlier.

It is very likely that “Light sea” was exhibited at Henn Roode’s posthumous solo exhibition at the Draakon Gallery in 1988, as indicated by the corresponding number in the left corner of the piece.

Text: Harry Liivrand, Katre Palm