Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Lithography on paper. 1993.
Signature: Real Man lithography 10/12 / M Mäetamm ’93

Marko Mäetamm (b. 1965), who celebrates his 60th birthday this year, has represented Estonia at the Venice Biennale twice, in 2003 with Kaido Ole and four years later with a solo exhibition. His distinctly unique style that speaks directly and honestly about the absurd moments of everyday life appeal to art lovers across many different cultures. That is why, in the last year alone, Mäetamm has had solo exhibitions in both Paris and Vilnius, not to mention various successful performances in front of domestic audiences.

Especially in the first half of the 1990s, Mäetamm related to classic pop art, which we can also see in this print where the artist visualizes the so-called real man – a race car driver. The essence of the “real man” is of course helped in his final perfection by real mega-companies – Marlboro, Shell, etc. This is a portrait of a superhero who defeats the machine and achieves superhuman speed. Mäetamm has brilliantly captured the character of the character, which is focused and confident as befits a race car driver.

Text: Harry Liivrand, Katre Palm