Anu Põder

A new comprehensive survey of the work of the acclaimed Estonian artist.

Anu Põder (1947-2013) was an acclaimed artist from Estonia whose work was recently featured in The Milk of Dreams, the 59th International Art Exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia. This publication will be the first comprehensive survey of her practice in English, published on the occasion of her exhibition at Muzeum Susch opening in December 2023, curated by Cecilia Alemani.

Anu Põder is one of Estonia's most revelatory voices of the last five decades. Her work has stood out since the 1970s as uniquely crafted, originally conceived, and deeply personal. Yet, because it was somehow out of sync with the then established art landscape in Estonia, it has been overlooked for many years. Põder is known for exploring the human body, highlighting the fragility, impermanence, and ephemerality of life in a series of highly evocative sculptures. Throughout her life, she employed unconventional materials such as textile, wax, plaster, soap, plastic, and wood to compose delicate assemblages.

This book will feature introductory essays to her practice in the broader context of Eastern Europe by Cecilia Alemani and Linda Kaljundai and a contextualisation within the feminist movement by Bojana Pejic. The publication will also feature in-depth analyses of her work, including the significance of textile and clothing by Ann Coxon, Põder's relationship to dance and performance by Agnieszka Sosnowska, a dive into her unrealised and lost works by Marika Kuzmicz, a comparative look with other key women artists working at the same time by Agata Jakubowska, and an analysis of Põder's relationship with corporeality by Adomas Narkevicius and Dina Akhmadeeva.

The book will also include numerous images about her life, many of which have never been published, accompanied by a narrative by Triin Tulgiste. A large iconographic apparatus will complement the book, with unpublished photographs and other documentation.