Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Bronze. 1988.
Signature: R. KULD 88

Sculptor Riho Kuld (b. 1936) graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts in 1962 and immediately rose to prominence in both monumental sculpture and free-form sculpture. His love for dynamic and openwork solutions is striking: “Scuba Divers” (1965), “Before the Rain” (1971) depicting a flock of birds, “Cyclist” (1971, all at the Art Museum of Estonia), “Freedom” (1972, Tartu Art Museum), etc. One of Kuld’s best-known sculptures in today’s Tallinn cityscape is “Radio Dove” from 1975 on Gonsiori Street, which, despite its weight of a few hundred kilos, feels as light as a bird.

During an exhibition of four sculptors – Edgar Viies, Matti Varik, Riho Kuld and Ülo Õun – at the Tartu Art Museum in 1972, art historian Mare Ruus found that it was a bold move on the part of the young artists Matti Varik and Riho Kuld to depict a roe deer after Jaan Koort’s 1929 statue. In Varik’s case, they appeared festive while Kuld depicted them in a more graceful manner.

Kuld returned to this motif in 1988 when he completed his powerful bronze sculpture “Deer”. In the context of the era, it seemed novel because the artist was working with an illusion of sight. Namely, when looking at the work from one side, the impression is of two running deer, and from the other, three. Which side the viewer wants to see is easily changed – Kuld designed the sculpture to be rotatable.

Text: Mai Levin