Sirje Eelma and Rait Prääts have lived in the same house for 50 years. For the same length of time, the couple have been active on the art scene: Sirje as a graphic artist, Rait at first mainly as a stained-glass artist, later moving increasingly to sculpture. Since 1999, they have had a total of 15 joint exhibitions in Estonia and Finland under the title “In the same house”. Each exhibition is put together according to time and place, and the fact that the artists do not compete with each other in terms of technique or space has always helped to keep the union together. It has been 10 years since the last joint exhibition.
“The common element of the exhibition at the Tartu Art House is a meditation on the passage of time. There are references to the past and, through the stones and sculptures, to the future. Both of us will be presenting our own themes and established handwriting, but our intertwined lives and time in its various layers will also be highlighted,” the artists explain.
Sirje Eelma (b. 1950) graduated from the Estonian State Institute of Art as a fashion designer. She worked as a costume designer at Tallinnfilm from 1975-1983 and since then has worked as a freelance artist. She has been a member of Estonian Artists’ Association since 1983 and has exhibited since the mid-1970s. She has exhibited both in Estonia and abroad, in solo and group exhibitions. Eelma has been awarded prizes in international printmaking exhibitions on several occasions, in Japan, South Korea, Latvia etc.
Rait Prääts (b. 1952) studied at the Estonian State Art Institute from 1970 to 1975. He has participated in exhibitions since 1975 and has been a member of the Estonian Artists’ Association since 1984. From 1993 to 2003 he worked as a lecturer at the Estonian Academy of Arts and from 1995 to 2008 he organised the festival KUNSTISUVI. Since 2003 he has been a freelance artist.
Graphic design: Laura Prääts and Ülar Linnuste (Joonstuudio)
The exhibition is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and the Estonian Artists’ Association.
