Kaido Ole

1963– · Estonian artist (born 1963)
Allee galerii; Eesti Kaasaegse Kunsti Muuseum; Eesti Kunsti Oksjonid; Eesti Kunstiakadeemia muuseum; Eesti Kunstimuuseum; Haus Galerii

trained at Estonian Academy of Arts

Kaido Ole (1963) is one of the most well known contemporary Estonian painters, active in art since 1989, and a long time teacher at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Ole often models for his own paintings but also creates peculiar characters, recurring in various series and compositions. Ole's work is characterised by humour and self-irony and a critical sense of the absurd, stemming from his identity as an Estonian, an Eastern European, artist, and citizen. Kaido Ole's solo exhibition “Basic” (2001) has been said to be one of the most notable Estonian solo shows of all times by the art historian Anders Härm. The leitmotif of the show was an anonymous subject, a basic human figure bubblehead, used to denote different hierarchies of power. Also part of Ole's work is the project John Smith, a pseudonym he worked under together with Marko Mäetamm between 2001 and 2006. In 2003 they represented Estonia at the 50th Venice Biennale with “Marko und Kaido”, a work blending autobiography and fantasy. In this compilation of paintings and installations the authors tell the story of a German gene researcher who came to the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic in the 1960s. Through the eyes of this character the artists present a self-ironic view on the dreams and aspirations of a small country in Eastern Europe. In his solo exhibition “Handsome Hero and Plenty of Still Lifes” (2012) in the Great Hall of Kumu Art Museum, Ole exhibited paintings with the recurring motif of a wheel balancing on abstract combinations of material, forms and surfaces, which can be interpreted as a witty comment on balance in the contemporary world. In the show “Freaks” (2014) Ole developed his trademark anonymous stick figures into all kinds of Dadaist characters, turning his previously carefully constructed mythologies upside down.

12 auction lots · 6 sold · 2004–2026 · €1,200 – €41,000 — as the auction houses published them; not a valuation

Coming up at auction: 30.10.2026 Vaal galerii: Tõde ja õigus, starting price €350 — all coming sales

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Browse 89 works in the catalogue →

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Still Life with Freak and Tin Flower
2012 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaStill Life with Freak and Basic Geometric Forms
2012 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaStill Life with Man Playing Home
2013 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaStill Life with Big Ego
2013 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaStill Life in Memory of J.T.
2013 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaBuried
2016 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaAll Together II
2018 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaAll Together I
2018 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaAll Together III
2019 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaJonase auks / In honour of Jonas
2019 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaKodu / Home
2019 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaAll Together VI
2020 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaDanse Macabre I
2022 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaK & O go to heaven
2023 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaK & O on the River of Eternity
2023 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaK & O descend to the underworld
2023 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaAllegory III
2025 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaAllegory II
2025 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaAllegory IV
2025 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaAllegory V
2025 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaAllegory I
2025 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaAllegory VI
2026 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaAllegory VII
2026 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaAllegory VIII
2026 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaAllegory IX
2026 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaAll Together IV
shown at Temnikova & KaselaAbstraction with Cooper IV
2020 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaComposition with molten aluminium I
2022 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaComposition with molten aluminium II
2022 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaComposition with molten aluminium III
2022 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaTin Leader
shown at Temnikova & KaselaAbstraction with Cooper I
2020 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaAbstraction with Cooper II
2020 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaAbstraction with Copper III
2020 · shown at Temnikova & KaselaK & O create nowhere something from nothing
2023 · shown at Temnikova & Kasela

35 works with a picture; the first 35 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: Raoul Kurvitz · Karl-Kristjan Nagel · Tõnis Saadoja · Marko Mäetamm · Urmo Raus · Andrus Joonas

Also trained at Estonian Academy of Arts: Eduard Wiiralt · Evald Okas · Andrus Johani · Johann Naha · Leonhard Lapin

Contemporaries in Temnikova & Kasela: Olga Chernysheva · Jaan Toomik · Dan Mitchell · Josephine Pryde · Flo Kasearu

By decade: 1980s · 1990s · 2000s · 2010s · 2020s
By medium: Painting · Mixed media · Other · Installation · Drawing · Print
Where the works are: Art Museum of Estonia · Estonian Academy of Arts Museum · Tartu Art Museum

← Kaido Kask · All artists A–Z · Kaido Rätsep →

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