Sirje Runge

1950– · Estonian painter and designer (born 1950)
Allee galerii; Artrovert; Eesti Kunsti Oksjonid; Eesti Kunstiakadeemia muuseum; Eesti Kunstimuuseum; Haus Galerii

trained at Estonian Academy of Arts

Sirje Runge (1950) is a painter and designer, recognised for her geometric abstract and minimalist paintings. In her earlier work Runge combined geometric balance and disciplined expressions to create repetitions of geometric shapes. In parallel to her interest in geometric elements the artist also has a deep interest in colour, which, over time, has become the main focus of her work. Runge belongs among the artists who in the beginning of the 1970s created the new and more radical wave of Estonian avant-garde art. During this decade, as Runge was finding herself as an artist, she was experimenting with various styles. Works from her early creative period (e.g. “Pigeon above the city”, 1970; “Tigers in the city”, 1969) are characteristic of her generation, displaying architectural and design aesthetics. In 1975 Runge defended her diploma work “Possibilities for shaping the milieu of Tallinn city centre” that has since gained international attention. The work, executed in a colourful aesthetic, envisioned utopian futures for the city of Tallinn. Together with Leonhard Lapin and Raul Meel, Runge was one of the initiators of “Harku '75”, a landmark exhibition in the Estonian artistic renewal of the 1970s. Soon figures in Runge's work were replaced by geometric shapes: triangles, quadrangles and circles. This period is characterised by a regular and structured approach to shapes and colours (e.g. “Geometry XI”, 1976; “Space II”, 1977). Focusing on colour, by the beginning of the 1980s the artist developed a vision based exclusively on colour sensitivity. Art historian Eha Komissarov has written that during this period the artist entrusted colour with conveying her message. The geometric forms she uses carry significance primarily as vessels of colour. In the end of the 1980s Runge's work mainly consisted of abstract paintings in delicate tones. In the ethereal, deep and finely painted colour field the meaningful aspects were based on the limitations of the tonal scale (e.g. “Catastrophe III”, 1987; “Catastrophe VII”, 1988). In the 1990s Runge continued with minimalist painting and created large-format oil paintings, such as the series “Shadows” (1993–1994) and “Architectones” (1998). In the 2000s the artist created works that she considers among the most significant in her oeuvre: “Dance macabre” (2001–2003), “Great love” (2003) and “Battle flags” (2006), the last painting series before Runge quit painting.

43 auction lots · 32 sold · 2018–2026 · €1,000 – €35,100 — as the auction houses published them; not a valuation

Coming up at auction: 31.10.2026 Eesti Kunsti Oksjonid: Valgus 9, starting price €5,500 — all coming sales

For sale now

2 works at Haus Galerii, Vernissage, €3,800–€4,800. Prices as the galleries state them.

Aeg III
€3,800 · Haus Galerii ↗Väike katastroof I
€4,800 · Vernissage ↗

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Aeg III
1980 · Haus GaleriiVäike katastroof I
1989 · Vernissage

2 works with a picture; the first 2 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: Toomas Vint · Peeter Mudist · Andres Tolts · Rein Tammik · Tiit Pääsuke · Olav Maran

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

Contemporaries in Eesti Kunstimuuseum: Illimar Paul · Aili Vint · Silver Vahtre · Raul Rajangu · Tõnu Soo

By decade: 1960s · 1970s · 1980s · 1990s · 2000s · 2010s
By medium: Painting · Print · Poster · Drawing · Watercolour · Photograph · Mixed media · Other
Where the works are: Art Museum of Estonia · Tartu Art Museum · Museum of New Art · Estonian Academy of Arts Museum · University of Tartu Art Museum

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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