Siim-Tanel Annus

1960– · Estonian artist (born 1960)
Eesti Kunsti Oksjonid; Eesti Kunstimuuseum; Haus Galerii; NOBA; Tartu Kunstimuuseum; Vaal galerii

trained at University of Tartu

Siim-Tanel Annus (1960) is considered the first and one of the most significant performance artists in Estonia, although in the last two decades he has been working more in printmaking, painting and photography. Together with Jaan Toomik and Raol Kurvitz, Annus was among the first artists to represent Estonia at the Venice Biennale in 1997. In his work, Annus is looking for an ideal world and aims to give the audience the opportunity to rise above the everyday. Siim-Tanel Annus began his career as an artist in 1976, when his early prints were exhibited at a Soviet avant-garde exhibition in the US and at the Rijeka International Drawing Bienniale. Unlike most artists at the time, Annus did not receive a traditional art education, instead he studied at Tõnis Vint's semi-underground studio and later art history in University of Tartu. In the 1980s Annus began doing performance art in his garden, inspired by the avant-garde apartment exhibitions in St Petersburg and Moscow. The best known of these exhibitions is “Läbimised” (The Transition, 1987), presented together with Ariel Lagle's original music. During the performance Annus conducted various fire rituals, while being clothed in a white dress and wearing a crown. The performance concluded with the artist passing through a gate of fire on a wheeled base while blindfolded. “Läbimised” even drew the attention of the Militsiya and Annus was interrogated together with the television crew. Annus' work, originally concerned with themes of universality, became intertwined with political reality, amplified by Perestroika and Estonia regaining its independence, elevating Annus to the status of prophet in retrospect. In 1997 Estonia participated in the Venice Biennale for the first time ever and the Estonian Cultural Endowment chose Siim-Tanel Annus, Jaan Toomik and Raoul Kurvitz to create performances and installations on the Giardini embankment (at the time a pavilion was not rented for the exhibit). Annus created his piece based on a motif he had used in his previous work and transformed it into a sculptural three-dimensional object for his Venice performance, essentially staging its birth through his performance. Today, the artist no longer works with performance, the medium that won him wider recognition, and is now mainly interested in painting and printmaking, returning to the preferred media of his youth in a way. In the 2010s he exhibited acrylic paintings “Raha ja poeesia” (Money and Poetry) as part of his solo show in Tallinn Art Hall, depicting magnified banknotes used in 20th century in Estonia. The.

34 auction lots · 16 sold · 2002–2026 · €383 – €11,000 — as the auction houses published them; not a valuation

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

For sale now

21 works at Haus Galerii, NOBA, €8,460–€9,450. Prices as the galleries state them.

Genesis 1
€8,460 · NOBA ↗Ukraina kevad 2024
€9,450 · NOBA ↗Metamorfoos
price on request · Haus Galerii ↗Genesis A+B
price on request · Haus Galerii ↗Genesis C
price on request · Haus Galerii ↗Suvi 2024
price on request · Haus Galerii ↗Torino lina I
price on request · Haus Galerii ↗Torino lina II
price on request · Haus Galerii ↗Seeriast "Kasvamine" I
price on request · Haus Galerii ↗424
price on request · Haus Galerii ↗423
price on request · Haus Galerii ↗Elmo tuled 9
price on request · Haus Galerii ↗

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Browse 122 works in the catalogue →

Teachers, pupils, circle

Teachers: Tõnis Vint

In the network of who taught whom →

Artwall

Torino lina I
1995 · Haus GaleriiTorino lina II
1995 · Haus GaleriiFraktal
2011 · Haus GaleriiElmo tuled 9
2015 · Haus GaleriiElmo tuled 8
2015 · Haus GaleriiElmo tuled 10
2015 · Haus GaleriiElmo tuled 12
2016 · Haus GaleriiElmo tuled 11
2016 · Haus GaleriiGenesis 1
2017 · NOBAGenesis
2018 · Haus GaleriiCirculos
2019 · Haus GaleriiPärnu laht
2021 · Haus GaleriiSeeriast "Ilmapuu" I
2021 · Haus GaleriiUkraina kevad 2024
2024 · NOBAMetamorfoos
2025 · Haus Galerii424
1991 · Haus Galerii423
1991 · Haus GaleriiGenesis C
2017 · Haus GaleriiGenesis A+B
2018 · Haus GaleriiSuvi 2024
2024 · Haus GaleriiSeeriast "Kasvamine" I
2024 · Haus Galerii

22 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: Andres Tolts · Uno Roosvalt · Jaan Elken · Kristiina Kaasik · Mare Vint · Sirje Runge

Also trained at University of Tartu: Richard Uutmaa · Peeter Allik · Eerik Haamer · Maire Männik · Toomas Vint

Contemporaries in Eesti Kunstimuuseum: Mati Karmin · Ilona Gurjanova · T. Teemägi · Jean-Charles Blais · Saulius Paukstys

By decade: 1970s · 1980s · 1990s · 2000s · 2010s · 2020s
By medium: Painting · Print · Drawing · Photograph · Other · Poster · Installation · Mixed media
Where the works are: Art Museum of Estonia · Tartu Art Museum

← Siim Prank · All artists A–Z · Siima Škop →

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