Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Acrylic, oil on canvas. 1996-1997.
Signature: J. ELKEN / “BLUES /TAXI ZUM KLO“ 82 x 100 cm akrüül, oli/l 1996-1997 JAAN ELKEN S.1954

Jaan Elken (b. 1954) made a radical turn in his work in the 1990s, moving from hyper-realistic, recognizable urban motifs to abstractionism and a generalizing interpretation of the environment. Elken then became particularly attracted to graffiti, which he now organically integrates into his brightly colored abstract compositions, capturing the urban – in this case, Lasnamäe – anarchic milieu.

The cheerfully colored “Blues/TAXI ZUM KLO” also contains a textual reference to the famous Berlin documentary “Taxi zum Klo” (1981), with the blue spots of color being associated with the term “blue movies” in the context of the painting’s title. The visual imagery of the painting also carries a symbolic message about the advent of a new sexual morality in Estonian society in the 1990s.

Text: Harry Liivrand