Marko Mäetamm (born 13 December 1965, in

Viljandi Viljandi (, german: Fellin, sv, Fellin) is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,407 in 2019. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major Estonian cities, Pärnu and Tartu ...

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

) is an Estonian

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradition ...

artist, working within the mediums of video, drawing and the internet. Mäetamm began studying graphic art at the

Estonian Academy of Arts The Estonian Academy of Arts ( Estonian: ''Eesti Kunstiakadeemia'', EKA) is the only public university in Estonia providing higher education in art, design, architecture, media, art history and conservation-restoration. It is based in Tallinn. Ac ...

in 1988 and received his M.A. from the academy in 1996. Mäetamm also studied practicing print technologies at the Swedish Royal Art High School. His professional art career spanning over two decades, Mäetamm emerged as one of the most prominent artists in Estonia upon graduating from Estonian Art Academy. Marko Mäetamm has exhibited internationally since the 1990s and represented Estonia at the 52nd Venice Bienniale in 2007 and in 2003 as a part of artists duo John Smith (with

Kaido Ole Kaido Ole (born 23 February 1963) is an Estonian painter. Ole was born in Tallinn. His great-uncle was artist Eduard Ole. In 1992, he graduated from Estonian Academy of Arts. He worked as a painting instructor at the Tallinn Art School from 199 ...

) in the

Estonian pavilion Estonian pavilion houses Estonia's national representation during Venice Biennale arts festivals. Outside of the central, international exhibition, individual nations produce their own shows, known as pavilions, as their national representation. ...

. Throughout his practice, the artist's primary focus has been on family life, which he has explored though videos and paintings. Treating the family as a microcosm of a wider socio-political and economic models, Mäetamm collects petty every-day situations, presenting them filtered through a prism of his unmistakable dark humour. Partly inspired by his own private life, Mäetamm's work explores the grey area where ambiguous feelings of being in control and being controlled merge.

Awards

*2008

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star ( et, Valgetähe teenetemärk; french: Ordre de l'Etoile Blanche) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic ...

V Class *2002 Painting's Prize of the Estonian Painter's Association. *2000

Kristjan Raud Kristjan Raud (22 October 1865, Kirikuküla, Vinni Parish – 19 May 1943, Tallinn) was an Estonian symbolist painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Estonian National Museum. Folklore elements figure heavily in his subject m ...

annual art award *2000 Harpoon. Annual art award of Vaal Gallery *1999 Stipendium of Cultural Endowment *1997 UNDP annual prize

Books by Marko Mäetamm

*''MARKO und KAIDO'' - Under the pen name "John Smith". Center for Contemporary Arts, Estonia. Tallinn, 2003 *''Rääkivad majad'' - Speaking Houses. R/I/B/O/P, Tallinn, 2003

References/External links

Marko Mäetamm's HomepageTemnikova & Kasela galleryMarko Mäetamm's profile at Estonian Contemporary Art Center's webpageInterview with Marko Mäetamm, Arterritory.comIkon Gallery, Birmingham
1965 births Living people People from Viljandi Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 5th Class 20th-century Estonian male artists 20th-century Estonian artists 21st-century Estonian male artists 21st-century Estonian artists Estonian Academy of Arts alumni {{Estonia-artist-stub