Allee galerii; Eesti Kaasaegse Kunsti Muuseum; Eesti Kunsti Oksjonid; Eesti Kunstiakadeemia muuseum; Eesti Kunstimuuseum; NOBA
Kai Kaljo is primarily known as a video artist, although her work also includes painting, photography, fresco, stained glass, and installation art. Kaljo's themes are inspired by her personal and everyday life extending into existential and social statements. Using black humour and irony, she often questions power relations in the art world, whether they are based on gender (male artists vs female artists), choice of artistic media (traditional art vs new media), geography (Estonia and Eastern Europe vs the international Western art world) or economic status (the precarity of freelance artists). In the 1980s, Kaljo studied monumental painting, and in the 1990s she found herself in a new society, where state art commissions had suddenly disappeared and the art field of newly independent Estonia saw the emergence of new media. Her first notable moment of recognition came in 1994 with her site specific installation “Genesis and Disappearance of Life” at the 2nd Annual Exhibition of the Soros Center of Contemporary Arts, Estonia “Unexistent Art”. Kaljo became known internationally in 1997 when she presented her first video “Loser” at the exhibition “Funny versus Bizarre” at the Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius. The work was soon exhibited at other international shows as well. In the video, using laconic irony, Kaljo describes her lived reality as an Estonian woman artist – so far from the success stories heralded as part of the official cultural politics. She has addressed the precarious situation of artists in her later work, for example, in the photo installation “The more I work the poorer I am” (2006), depicting scenes from the artist's work days during which she makes a loss of € 246. The art historian Mari Laaniste has described Kai Kaljo's work as “a sceptical meditation bordering on self-deprecation”. In the video “I am no Adamson-Eric” (2018) she plays with the idea of who is allowed to participate in the community of art (history). Kaljo tells the story of a conversation she had with her mother: when she was younger, she asked her mother, why she could not become an artist as multifaceted as the famous Estonian artist Adamson-Eric. Her mother snapped back at her: “But you are no Adamson-Eric!” In the video “Even the name is sometimes the same” (2017), also shown in Paris and Berlin at the Rencontres Internationales festival, Kaljo contemplates the randomness of human life, as she searches for figures who often remain in the background in historic photographs.
1 auction lots · 1 sold · 2026 · €4,800 — as the auction houses published them; not a valuation
Coming up at auction: 30.10.2026 Vaal galerii: Lehekülg kunstnikuraamatust „Naised udus“, starting price €350 — all coming sales
21 works at Allee galerii, NOBA, €310–€1,650. Prices as the galleries state them.
Invisible I
Invisible II
Nähtamatu IV
Käsi sõrmustega
Sügisene leht
Roos
Seelik 2
Seelik
Kollane roos
Punane roos
Käsi. Sangviin
KäsiFollow new works for sale (RSS)
Browse 44 works in the catalogue →
Vihm Wiepersdorfis 2004. aastal
Must roos ja teised lilled
Rukkipõld Leevi külas Põlvamaal
Argipäeva hommik
Vesikupp Mustjärves
Hara laht
Liilia
ÄhijärvSügisene leht
Kaks lilleInvisible IInvisible IINähtamatu IVKollane roosKäsi. SangviinKäsi sõrmustegaKäsiRoosPunane roosSeelik 2Seelik21 works with a picture; the first 21 here, all in the catalogue. Pictures for public-domain works, live gallery listings and the works galleries and artists show on their own pages, from those servers.
Similar artists — same period, media and subjects: Orest Kormašov · Jan Tammik · Miljard Kilk · Jelena Liba · Indrek Aava · Priit Pangsepp
Contemporaries in NOBA: Jelena Nova-Ginzburg · Aira Rautso · Tiina Ojaste · Riina Varol · Eneli Valge
By decade: 1910s · 1980s · 1990s · 2000s · 2010s · 2020s
By medium: Painting · Print · Photograph · Mixed media · Installation
Where the works are: Estonian Academy of Arts Museum · Tartu Art Museum · Art Museum of Estonia
| Year | Title | Technique | Dimensions | Held by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1914 | Isa kirjad | filmimine | aeg/ kestus: 25.0 sekund; aeg/ kestus: 44.0 minut | Tartu Kunstimuuseum |
| 1984 | Teekond teispoolsusesse | oil | laius: 81.0 cm; kõrgus: 65.0 cm | Eesti Kunstiakadeemia muuseum |
| 1984 | Usbekistani natüürmort | oil | laius: 90.0 cm; kõrgus: 110.0 cm | Eesti Kunstiakadeemia muuseum |
| 1985 | Sgrafiito kavand Küberneetika Instituudile | collage; pencil | lehe laius: 45.6 cm; lehe kõrgus: 21.9 cm | Eesti Kunstiakadeemia muuseum |
| 1986 | Seinamaali kavand | watercolour; grafiit; gouache | lehe laius: 47.9 cm; lehe kõrgus: 66.2 cm | Eesti Kunstiakadeemia muuseum |
| 1986 | Seinamaali kavand | watercolour; grafiit; gouache | lehe laius: 105.0 cm; lehe kõrgus: 66.2 cm | Eesti Kunstiakadeemia muuseum |
| 1989 | Fresko kavand Abja kultuurimajale | watercolour; pencil; ink | lehe laius: 59.6 cm; lehe kõrgus: 59.6 cm | Eesti Kunstiakadeemia muuseum |
| 1989 | Fresko kavand Abja kultuurimajale | watercolour; pencil; ink | lehe laius: 104.8 cm; lehe kõrgus: 59.6 cm | Eesti Kunstiakadeemia muuseum |
| 1997 | Ja ometi, kord tuleb aeg, kui unustan ma oma nimegi ja varjugi ei heida seinale | filmimine (must-valge; heli; 4:3) | aeg/ kestus: 1.0 minut | Eesti Kunstimuuseum |
| 1997 | Luuser | aeg/ kestus: 24.0 sekund; aeg/ kestus: 1.0 minut | Tartu Kunstimuuseum | |
| 2004 | Vihm Wiepersdorfis 2004. aastal | Painting | 78 x 100 cm | NOBA |
| 2005 | Aeg (Time) | filmimine (värviline; heli; 4:3) | aeg/ kestus: 55.0 sekund; aeg/ kestus: 1.0 minut | Eesti Kunstimuuseum |
| 2006 | The More I Work the Poorer I Am | photo installation, 25 photos, 36 x 27 cm | Eesti Kaasaegse Kunsti Muuseum | |
| 2008 | Mina vaatan loodust, loodus vaatab mind | aeg/ kestus: 45.0 sekund | Tartu Kunstimuuseum | |
| 2009 | Vaikne rahvas | filmimine | aeg/ kestus: 37.0 sekund; aeg/ kestus: 2.0 minut | Tartu Kunstimuuseum |
| 2018 | Invisible I | Photography | 30 x 46 cm | NOBA |
| 2018 | Invisible II | Photography | 30 x 46 cm | NOBA |
| 2018 | Invisible III | Photography | 30 x 46 cm | NOBA · sold |
| 2018 | Must roos ja teised lilled | Painting | 78 x 100 cm | NOBA |
| 2018 | Nähtamatu IV | Photograph | 30 x 46 cm | NOBA |
| 2021 | Sügisene leht | Mixed technique | 46 x 46 cm | NOBA |
| 2021 | Talv on tulemas | Mixed technique | 46 x 46 cm | NOBA · sold |
| 2022 | Argipäev | Acrylic, oil on canvas | 30 x 30 cm | Allee galerii · sold |
| 2023 | Argipäeva hommik | Oil on canvas | 30 x 30 cm | Allee galerii |
| 2023 | Argipäeva õhtu | Oil on canvas | 30 x 30 cm | Allee galerii · sold · listed at €920 |
| 2023 | Hara laht | Oil on canvas | 30 x 30 cm | Allee galerii |
| 2023 | Liilia | Painting | 54 x 55 cm | NOBA |
| 2023 | Lilled 6 | Acrylic oil, canvas | 80 x 80 cm | Eesti Kunsti Oksjonid · EKL 2. ja 3. päev — Maal & Skulptuur · Sold €4,800 |
| 2023 | Loksa | Oil on canvas | 50 x 50 cm | Allee galerii · sold · listed at €1,300 |
| 2023 | Päikesetõus Lihtensteini külas Põlvamaal | Oil on canvas | 30 x 35 cm | Allee galerii · sold · listed at €900 |
| 2023 | Rukkipõld Leevi külas Põlvamaal | Oil on canvas | 30 x 35 cm | Allee galerii |
| 2023 | Vesikupp Mustjärves | Oil, acrylic on canvas | 30 x 35 cm | Allee galerii |
| 2024 | Vihm läks üle Viljandi järve | Acrylic and oil on canvas | 50 x 50 cm | Allee galerii · sold · listed at €1,500 |
| 2025 | Kollane roos | 45 x 53 cm | NOBA | |
| 2025 | Käsi | 45 x 53 cm | NOBA | |
| 2025 | Käsi sõrmustega | 45 x 53 cm | NOBA | |
| 2025 | Käsi. Sangviin | 45 x 53 cm | NOBA | |
| 2025 | Punane roos | 45 x 53 cm | NOBA | |
| 2025 | Roos | 45 x 53 cm | NOBA | |
| 2025 | Seelik | 53 x 45 cm | NOBA | |
| 2025 | Seelik 2 | 53 x 45 cm | NOBA | |
| 2025 | Ähijärv | Oil and acrylic on canvas | 50 x 50 cm | Allee galerii |
| 2026 | Kaks lille | Mixed technique | 70 x 100 cm | NOBA |
| — | Mosaiigi kavand „Kaif” sauna basseini seinale | watercolour; pencil; ink | lehe laius: 74.3 cm; kujutise kõrgus: 60.0 cm | Eesti Kunstiakadeemia muuseum |
← Kadri Toom · All artists A–Z · Kai Kiudsoo-Värv →
A strip of pictures, the count and a link back, for a blog, a course page or a museum's site. Paste both lines: the second is the link that tells search engines where the pictures live.
Museum records from MuIS and the EKM Digital Collection; gallery stock from the galleries' own catalogues; auction results as Haus Galerii, Vernissage, Allee galerii, Vaal galerii, E-Kunstisalong, Eesti Kunsti Oksjonid and Kunstikoda published them, and the lots Osta Noort Kunsti offered (it publishes no results). Full catalogue · Corrections, removals, questions: info@museaal.ee · Privacy