Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Oil on canvas. 1965.
Signature: V. OHAKAS 65

Valdur Ohakas’ (1925-1998) “Cafè” is one of the most interesting urban paintings in Estonian art of the 1960s. It is an exceptional piece in terms of genre in the painter’s portfolio but it also visually characterizes the idealizing idea of the metropolis of the time very well.

The 1960s were the years of promoting high-rise buildings and free-planning where one could propose fantastical projects. In Ohakas’ painting, we see a street wall densely lined with houses, on which the sign meaning “Cafè” appears invitingly in neon letters – as if designed by American pop artists.

It is already evening, probably a wet late autumn, and two silhouetted men have turned longingly towards the café. The most fascinating part of the painting is the evening reflections drawn on the wet asphalt – golden yellows, deep reds and browns, conveying the vibrant emotions of city life, full of colorful life. Although it is not clear what place it is and whether it is even real, the painting is a wonderful expressionist emotional image of a modern metropolis, which can easily be considered a fantasy. But a fantasy that conveys an Estonian message under the conditions of Russian occupation.

Text: Harry Liivrand, Katre Palm