About

Fred Kotkas’s series of paintings were originally shown in several Estonian galleries (Tartu Art House, Pärnu City Gallery, Kondas Centre in Viljandi) in the year of the 100th anniversary of independence celebrations, an occasion from which the artist borrowed the theme of the show.

If a national holiday is intended to unite members of the population in an act of communal and simultaneous celebration, Kotkas’s works aim to reveal the contrasts present in Estonian society that become more visible in ecstatic moments of heightened expectations. The paintings depicting bursts of intense activity …