Born in 1961 in Tartu, raised in Haapsalu, lives and works in Tallinn.
Studied painting and graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts in 1991. Currently professor of the painting department at the Estonian Academy of Arts.
One of the best-known Estonian contemporary artists, Toomik has exhibited at ARS ’95 (Helsinki, 1995), Manifesta 1 (Rotterdam, 1996), the Venice Biennale (1997, 2003), Beijing International Art Biennale (2005), Berlin Biennale (2006), „Ostalgia“ (New Museum, New York, 2011) etc.
A painter, performance and video artist, he started making short films in the 2000s and completed his first full-length feature film in 2014. He won the Principal Prize at Oberhausen in 2008 for his film „Communion“. His films have been shown at international film festivals in Oberhausen, Rotterdam, Basel, São Paulo, Tallinn etc.
https://cca.ee/en/artists-database/jaan-toomik
Education:
1985–1991 Estonian Academy of Arts, faculty of painting
Works in collections:
Kiasma Helsinki, Foundation Louis Vuitton, Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Sammlung Hoffmann Berlin,
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Moderna Museet Stockholm, Ludwig Museum of Budapest, KUMU Tallinn,
Moscow Museum of Modern Art, etc.
Selected solo exhibitions:
2022 People and Other Creatures, Artra Gallery, curated by Raffaele QuaNrone, Milan. Italy
2021 In Yellow and Green, Haapsalu City Gallery, Haapsalu, Estonia
2020 Jaan Toomik in Viljandi, Rüki Gallery, Viljandi, Estonia
2020 „Selfie as a Seagull”, ARS project space, Tallinn, Estonia
2019 “Jaan Toomik: Oleg”, Kunsthaus Dresden, Dresden, Germany
2019 „My End Is My Beginning. And My Beginning Is My End“, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, curated by Viktor Misiano, Moscow, Russia