Kaljo Põllu (28 November 1934 in Kopa, Hiiumaa – 23 March 2010) was an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n artist. In 1962 he received a diploma in glass art, and became director of art cabinet of

Tartu State University The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a Public university, public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, where from 1975 to 1996 he taught drawing in the

Estonian Academy of Arts The Estonian Academy of Arts (Estonian language, Estonian: ''Eesti Kunstiakadeemia'', EKA) is the only public university in Estonia providing higher education in art, design, architecture, Media (communication), media, art history and conservation ...

; at this point his art changed in style dramatically as he searched for influences from ancient

Finno-Ugric Finno-Ugric () is a traditional linguistic grouping of all languages in the Uralic languages, Uralic language family except for the Samoyedic languages. Its once commonly accepted status as a subfamily of Uralic is based on criteria formulated in ...

culture. In 2007 the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

gave Põllu their "Contribution to Estonian National Identity" award..

Creative career

* 1959–1962 first independently created graphic and painting works during studies in the art academy

Tartu period

* 1962–1975 graphic works on impressions from travels in Estonia, Koola peninsula and Transcaucasia * 1963–1972 abstract, pop-like and op-like graphic artwork and paintings * 1967–1972 establishing and directing the artistic group "Visarid" * 1973–1975 collection "Kodalased" ("People at Home") of mezzotinto graphic works (25 works)

Tallinn period

* 1978–1984 collection "Kalivägi" ("Kali People") of mezzotinto graphic works (65 works) * 1987–1991 collection "Taevas ja maa" ("Heaven and Earth") of mezzotinto graphic works (40 works) * 1991–1995 collection "Kirgastumine" ("Enlightenment") of mezzotinto graphic works (47 works) * 1994–2008 created more than 100 paintings on figurative impossibleness and seemingly three-dimensionality * 1998–2003 establishing and directing the artistic group "YDI"

Personal exhibitions outside Estonia (selection; all graphics exhibitions)

* 1972 exhibition of ex libris by Kaljo Põllu in Frederikshavn (Denmark) * 1972 exhibition of graphics together with Allex Kütt in the central exhibition hall of all-Soviet Artists Union (25 Gorki Str., Moscow) * 1984 exhibitions in the library of Helsinki University (Finland) and in Stavanger (Norway) * 1985 exhibition in Jyväskylä (Finland) * 1986 exhibition in Södertäle Art Hall (Sweden) * 1987 exhibitions in Kymenlaakso (Finland); in Göteborg Art Museum, Västerbotten and in Örebro (Sweden) * 1989 exhibition in Alta (Norway) * 1990 exhibitions in Suomi Gallery and in Folkens Museum (both in Stockholm, Sweden); in Nordic House (Reykjavik, Iceland); during the VII International Fenno-Ugric Congress in Debrecen (Hungary) * 1991 exhibitions in Oulu town library and in the art gallery "Pinacotheca" of Jyväskylä University (Finland); in Szombathelys (Hungary) * 1992 exhibitions in Qaqortoq (Greenland/Denmark); in Seattle and Hancock-Michigan (USA); in Sorbonne Centre of Paris University (France) * 1993 exhibition in Palm Beach Community College Florida (USA) * 1994 exhibitions in Grazi Minorite Monastery (Austria), in Kammel Dok architecture centre (Copenhagen, Denmark) * 1995 exhibitions in Finnish embassy in Paris (France), in Museum für Völkerkunde (Wien, Austria), during the VII International Fenno-Ugric Congress in Jyväskylä (Finland), in Barcelona University (Spain) * 1996 exhibition in Sevilla and Salamanca University (Spain) * 2001 exhibition in Budapest (Hungary) * 2002 exhibition in Dublin National Theatre (Ireland)

Exhibition catalogues published outside Estonia about Kaljo Põllu

* * * * * * * There have been published approx. 30 titles on Kaljo Põllu's artwork in newspapers and journals outside Estonia.

References

External links

*. In Estonian
English translation of abstract
at Directory of Open Access Resources. *. Translated by Liina Viires. *. Interview with Põllu. *. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pollu, Kaljo 1934 births 2010 deaths 20th-century Estonian male artists 20th-century Estonian artists 21st-century Estonian male artists 21st-century Estonian artists People from Hiiumaa Parish Academic staff of the University of Tartu Recipients of the Order of the National Coat of Arms, 5th Class