Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Acrylic/oil on canvas. 2004.
Signature: T. PÄÄSUKE / TIIT PÄÄSUKE VARBAD akrüül/õli

Tiit Pääsuke (b. 1941) is a Painter with a capital letter – a top figure in art whose works are always awaited with great excitement by the art public. This piece of the creative puzzle is part of his series depicting the human body, which nevertheless works just as effectively as a standalone. Pääsuke treats the human physiognomy as if it were a laboratory for painting techniques.

“So what is the image of the human body? You don’t need much for that. A piece of canvas, preferably linen, and a liter of thin glue. Then a quarter of a bottle of turpentine. It doesn’t take out as much power from the paints, a tablespoon of bleached linseed oil keeps the surface soft, and a few drops of dammar varnish that smells like the coastal forests of Sumatra. And of course, paints.” (Teet Veispak “Fragmented Images of the Body”, Sirp, 2004).

Artist Mall Nukke appreciates Pääsuke’s sense of color and composition and comments on the work “Toes” as follows: “This time Tiit depicts a seated male model. After the butt, he has taken the next most difficult detail on the human body, the foot. From below. Tiit has applied his excellent painter’s sense of composition. The colors are flesh-toned, excited by the “sought-after” pale green, which helps the warm tones of the human body to stand out better.”

Tiit Pääsuke’s experimental body laboratory does not demolish or break, does not engage in unnatural human experiments but rather, takes sincere pleasure in the pure magic of color, the joy and freedom of creation.

Text: Katre Palm