Peeter Laurits (born in 1962) has studied in Tartu and Leningrad State Universities, Estonian Humanitarian Institute and New York International Centre of Photography. He has made one-man shows in London, Berlin, Moscow and Chiang Mai, his work has been bought by museums and private collections and his monumental pieces have been assigned to public space. He has enriched the tools for photographic expression and broadened the role of the photograph in the Estonian cultural space. In 2017 he was invited a visiting professor for liberal arts at Tartu University.
Personal exhibitions:
2023 "Kingfisher in the Underworld", Hobusepea gallery, Tallinn
"Arctic Sails", Tallinn Botanical Gardens
2022 "Something's Connected to Everything", Museum of Natural History, Tallinn
"Sacred Baths", Vaal gallery
"Possibility of an Island", Ferrum Centre, Kuressaare
2021 “DeStudio Hangover”
Fotografiska Tallinn
"Totems of Dynasties", Biotoopia '21, Viinistu Art Harbour
"Green Connecting Cables", Kanal Gallery, Võru
“Siamese Sauna”, Voronja Gallery
“Connecting Flights”, Vilde & Vine, Tartu
“Outing”, Draakoni gallery, Tallinn
2016 "Translating Ritual" (with Prateep Suthathongthai), Ne'-Na Contemporary Art Space, Chiang Mai
2015 "Codex naturalis", Vaal gallery, Tallinn
2013 "Logos & Mythos", Vaal gallery, Tallinn
2012 "Bridge to Beyond and Back", Vinzavod, Moscow
Tartu Art Hall
2012 "Gateways", Tallinn City Gallery
2011 "Martyrdom of Mattis", Kiek-in-de-Kök, Temnikova & Kasela Gallery, Tallinn
Museum of New Art, Pärnu
Kondas Center, Viljandi 2012
2010 "Trickster‘s Office", ArtDepoo, Tallinn
Kondas Center, Viljandi
2008 "appalling@appealing" (with Herkki Erich Merila), Vaal gallery, Tallinn
2007 "The Fifth Season" Design and Architecture Gallery, Tallinn,
Museum of New Art, Pärnu
2006 "Lopéz & Laurits" (with Marcos Lopéz), Tallinn Art Hall
2005 "Vana labürint" Artdepoo Gallery, Tallinn
2005 "Meistriteoste varjus" (with Laurentsius) Kadriorg Art Museum, Tallinn
2005 "Flowing Labyrinth" (with Madis Katz) Pavlov Medialab, Groningen, Holland
Ühisbank Gallery, Tallinn
Võru City Gallery, 2006
2003 "Dining with Worms", (with Ain Mäeots) Botanic Garden of Helsinki University
The Ragged School Gallery, London, 2004
Giedre Bartelt Gallery, Berliin, 2004
Vaal Gallery, Tallinn, 2004
Pärnu Museum of New Art, 2004
Tartu Art Hall, 2004
Viljandi City Gallery, 2004
Haapsalu City Gallery, 2004
Võru Museum, 2004
2003 "Pietá and Atlas of Heavens", Pärnu Linnagalerii
2002 "The Flood", Tallinn Art Hall Gallery
Museu d'Agua, Lisboa, Portugal 2003
FotoFo festival, Pallfyhu Palace, Bratislava, Slovakia 2003
Ancien Preche, Pontorson, France, 2004
Museum of New Art, Pärnu, Estonia 2005
Vire Photographic Festival, France, 2006
Far-Eastern Art Museum, Khabarovsk, 2006
2001 "Birthday of Eternity II", Estonian Bank Gallery, Tallinn
2001 "Birthday of Eternity", Rakvere Gallery, Estonia
2000 "Par Avion"(with Herkki Erich Merila), The Living Art Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland
2000 "Psühhosoikum", Tallinn City Gallery, Estonia
1999 "Lunaatika"(with Herkki Erich Merila), Pärnu City Gallery, Estonia
1999 "Asphaltsafari" Võru museum, Estonia
1998 "EE–LV"(with Herkki Erich Merila), Estonian Embassy in Riga, Latvia
1998 "Atlas of Heavens 2", Museum of Architecture, Tallinn, Estonia
1998 "Atlas of Heavens 1", Vaal Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia
1997 "Postcards From Kütiorg", Estonian Mission at the European Union, Brussels, Belgium
1997 "The Suit of Adam"(with Herkki Erich Merila), Estonian Mission at the European Union, Brussels
1996 "Estonian Architects"(with Herkki Erich Merila), Museum of Architecture, Tallinn
1996 "The Familiy of Adam"(with Herkki Erich Merila), Tallinn City Gallery, Estonia
1995 "Metamorphoses"(with Herkki Erich Merila), Nordic Council of Ministers Gallery, Copenhagen
1993 "Diseases & Metamorphoses II"(with Herkki Erich Merila), Luum Gallery, Tallinn
1993 "Diseases & Metamorphoses I" (with Herkki Erich Merila), Lee Gallery, Tallinn
1990 "Concerto Grosso", Illegaard Gallery, Tartu, Estonia
1989 "22 Pictures", Komsomolsk na Amure, Russia
1989 "We Are the Same Stuff That Dreams Are Made of" Estonian Drama Theater
1988 "Sixteen Pictures", Kiek in de Kök Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia
Group exhibitions:
2023 "Another Body", Estonian National Museum
"Spring Exhibition" Tallinn Art Hall
2022 "Spring Exhibition" Tallinn Art Hall
2021 "Spring Exhibition" Tallinn Art Hall
"Power, Might and Spirit", Võrumaa Museum
2020 "The Future is in One Hour: Estonian Art in the 1990s”,
KUMU permanent exhibition
“Estonian portrait Avantgarde 1980–2000”, Estonian Museum of Photography
2019 “Spring Exhibition 2019”, Tallinn Art Hall
“Miniprint Paese” Paese, Treviso, Italy
2018 “Secret Files” KUMU
“Cathedral for Technology”, Tallinn Art Week
“Spring Exhibition”, Tallinn Art Hall
“Dead Man’s Skis or How to Explain Forest to Digital Rabbits”, Tartu Art Hall
2017 “Dead Man’s Skis or How to Explain Forest to Digital Rabbits”, Vaal gallery
“Nucleus. Imagining Science”, Noorderlicht Photo Festival, Groningen2016 "Tallinn Print triennial. The Winners", Vilnius Graphic Art Centre gallery "Might and Pain. Works from Margus Punab art Collection", Kadriorg Art museum 2015 "Between Heaven and Earth", Geumgang Nature Art Biennale, Gongju, Korea
Guanlan International Print Biennial, Shenzhen, China
"Death and Beauty", KUMU, Tallinn"LuxMatrix", Light Festival, Tallinn
"From Explosion to the Plain. Estonian Contemporary Photo", Tartu Art Museum
"Wide frame I. Beginnings of Tartu Photo", Tartu Art Museum
2014 "Holy", Museum of Spiritual culture, Kiev, Ukraine
"ornaMENTAALNE", Tallinn Art Hall
"Provisional Government. 40 years of punk", Voronja gallery, Varnja, Estonia
2013 Tallinn 1. Light Biennale, Tallinn
Archisle #2, Jersey
"From the leaf of grass to the end of the world", Viljandi City gallery, Estonia
"From artist to Library", National Library, Tallinn
"Best of 2012", FotoLoft, Vinzavod, Moscow
Estonian Artists' Associations's Annual Exhibition, Art Hall, Tallinn
2012 "Artmandu", 2nd international Art Festival, Kathmandu, Nepal
Noorderlicht Photofestival, Gröningen, Holland
"Nous Croyons", Castle Saint Auvent, France
"Hematoom", Gallery 5, Oulu, Finland
"Human in Half of the Century", Tartu Art Museum
"Spring Exhibition", Tallinn Art Hall
2011 "Inner Forests", Yatoo pre-biennale, Gongju, Korea
"For Love Not Money", 15th Tallinn Print Triennial, KUMU, Tallinn
"Vesi Vatten Water Acqua", Wäinö Aaltonen Museum, Turku, Finland
"Kunst macht frei. Contemporary Estonian Art", Janus Pannonius Museum, Pecs, Hungary
"The Lost City", Museum of New Art in Pärnu
2010 "V Douro Bienal Internacional de Gravura", Portugal
Amsterdam International Photobiennial GRID 2010
"Confrontations", Tallinn Art Hall
"Anatomy of God", Tartu Art Hall, Estonia
"We are Fine" ArtDepoo, Tallinn
2009 "Riburada. Visual Literacy" Y Gallery, Tartu, Estonia
"VI International Novosibirsk Graphic Biennial", Novosibirsk, Russia
"Musgos e Liquenes", Galeria Santa Clara, Coimbra, Portugal
"Pain and Passion", Tartu Art Museum
"Life 69. Erotic Art", Rakvere Museum
"Floromania", KUMU, Tallinn
2008 "Obscurum per Obscurius" Tallinn Art Hall
"Borderland", Guang Zhou Art Academy, China
"Square of Freedom", Tallinn Art Hall, Estonia
"Escapists", Tallinn Art Hall Gallery
"Estonian Graphics. Impact", Museum of Foreign Art, Riga, Latvia
"Baltic Pop", Giedre Bartelt Gallery, Berlin
2007 "Impact 5", Rotermann center, Tallinn
"Political & Poetical", Tallinn Graphic Biennale, KUMU
"Man and Woman", The Museum of New Art, Pärnu, Estonia.
"Art for Sustainability", Abbekas Gallery, Abbekas & Lund, Sweden
"Archaeology of Environment", Retretti Museum, Finland
"Collected Crises II", KUMU, Tallinn
2006 "Documenta 12", magazine project, Kassel
"Homo Grandis Natu", Russian Institute of Humanities, Moscow
"Collected Crises I", KUMU, Tallinn
2005 "Kunst in der Karlshütte" festival, Germany
Kunstmesse Art Frankfurt 2005
"Neue Horizonte entdecken", Weltkulturerbe Zollverein, Schacht XII, Halle 5, Essen "1965-2005", Vaal gallery, Tallinn
"Homo Grandis Natu", Art Hall, Tallinn
"CDH-2005 Spring Salon", Central Hall of Artists, Moscow
"Identities", Art Hall, Tallinn
"Reasons to Love the Earth", Leeuwenbergh Centre, Utrecht, Holland
2004 "Quand l*Art Change la Baie", Expo-parcours d*art contemporain en Baie du Mount Saint Michel, France
"Ecology and Art", Central Hall of Artists, Moscow
"First Assembly", The Ragged School Gallery, London
2003 "1001 Reasons to Love the Earth", Seoul, South Korea
"Green wave", Tallinn Art Hall, Estonia
"XXL" Tartu Art Hall, Estonia
"Arte Factum" Vilniaus Fotografijos Galeri, Lithuania
"(un)dressed Body", Giedre Bartelt Gallery, Berlin
"Printmaking in Europe: Trends and Perspectives", Cadiz, Spain
"3+7+12. Dust." Ühispank gallery, Tallinn
2002 "Kapital", Estonian Art Museum
"Printmaking in Europe: Trends and Perspectives", Thessaloniki, Greece
"A Trip to Setuland", Obinitsa, Estonia
"Brave New World", Draakoni Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia
"Man and Woman in Surrealism", Pärnu Modern Art Museum, Estonia
"IDNA", 7th International EthnoFuturistic festival, Izhevsk, Udmurtia
"The Earth is Round", Kiriküüt festival of ecological art, Viljandi, Estonia
"Closing the Distance" Laznia Center for Contemporary Art, Gdansk, Poland
"International Young Art 2002" ArtLink/Sothebys, Tel Aviv, New York, Amsterdam
2001 "Summer-autumn-winter-spring", Haus gallery, Tallinn, Estonia
"Babylon", City gallery, Tallinn, Estonia
"Changing Image", XII Tallinn Graphic Triennale, Estonia
"Conditionally Existing. Conditionally Unexisting.", XII Tallinn Graphic Triennale, Estonia
"Animal" Castle of Kuressaare, Estonia
2000 "Red", The White Salon of the Black Heads House, Tallinn, Estonia
"Duchamp’s Suitcase" Arnolfini Art Center, Bristol, England
"Visiting-Card", City Museum of Narva, Estonia
"Estonian Photo", Mai Mano Gallery, Budapest
"Artgenda", Glass-Hall, Helsinki, Finland
"Ugriculture 2000", Gallen-Kallela Museum, Helsinki, Finland
"AIDS in Culture", Rottermann’s Salt Storage, Tallinn, Estonia
1999 "Diaspora" Oviedo, Spain
"Erootika" Tallinn Art Hall, Estonia
1998 "Out of the Shadow" North Carolina University, USA
"Freedom of Choice" Tallinn Art Hall, Estonia
"The Return of the Past – the End of Utopias" Danish Embassy in Paris, France
1997 "Artsummer", Endla Theatre, Pärnu, Estonia
" The Return of the Past – the End of Utopias ", Helsinki Art Hall, Finland;
Tallinn Art Hall, Estonia;
Galeria Miejska, Poznan, Poland
"Persona", Estonian Art Museum, Tallinn
1996 "The Return of the Past – the End of Utopias", Castle of Gottorf, Schleswig-Holstein.
Haus am Waldsee, Berlin.
Japanisches Palais, Dresden, Germany
1995 "Biotopy", Tallinn Art Hall, Estonia
"Factory of History", Saaremaa Biennale, Castle of Kuressaare, Estonia
"Self-Portrait", Kuznechki Most Gallery, Moscow, Russia
1994 "Unexisting Art", Estonian Institute of history, Tallinn, Estonia
"Europa-Europa", Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle, Bonn, Germany
"Baltic Photography", Galleria Finnfoto, Helsinki, Finland
1993 "Substance–Unsubstance", Tallinn Art Hall, Estonia
"Memory of Images", Kiel, Rostock, Berlin, Germany;
Riga, Latvia;
Vilnius, Lithuania;
Gdansk, Poland;
Copenhagen, Denmark
"Myra", Tallinn Art Hall, Estonia
1992 "Contemporary Baltic Photography", Odense Photographic Museum, Denmark
"Erotica Ultima Thule", CB's 313 Gallery, New York, USA
"Images From Borderlands", Saaremaa Photo Festival, Kuressaare, Estonia
"Always Yours", Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago, USA
1991 "Contemporary Soviet Photography ",Rosa Esman Gallery, New York, USA
"Photographers Estoniens", Charleroy Photographic Museum, Belgium.
"Contemporary Soviet Photography", Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago, USA
1990 "Iisalmen Camera Festival", Iisalmi, Finland
Diffraction Only-Contemporary Lensless Photographers", Annie Gentils Gallery, Antwerpen, Netherlands
1989 "Confused Times", travelling exhibition in Finland.
"Le Theatre Dans L'Art Photographique", Sterijino Pozorje Biennale, Yugoslavia.
1988 "Baltic Photo Trienniale ", A.H. Tammsaare Museum, Tallinn, Estonia
1986 "Baltic Photography", Center of Contemporary Art, Vilnius
1985 "Eesti fotokunst" Pirita Mess Center, Tallinn
Prizes, grants, awards:
Eerik Haamer Prize 2023
3 year scholarship of Estonian Artists Union 2022
Annual Prize of Estonian Museums 2017Commissions of the President of the Republic of Estonia 2014 and 2015
One year grant of Estonian Endowment for the Arts 2012
Annual Prize of Estonian Endowment for the Arts, 2009
Estonian Endowment for the Arts, "Live and Shine" grant 2005
Estonian Golden Book 2005
Order of the White Cross 2005
Kristjan Raud prize 2004
Memorial medal of Fr.R.Kreutzwald, 2003
Annual Prize of Estonian Endowment for the Arts, 2002
Prize of XII Tallinn Graphic Triennale 2001
One year grant of Estonian Endowment for the Arts 2000
Public collections:
Estonian Art Museum, Tallinn
Tartu Art Museum, Estonia
Estonian Bank collection, Tallinn
Fund of Tallinn Graphic Trienniale, Tallinn
Norton Dodge Collection, New York, USA
Pinhole Resource, San Lorenzo, New Mexico
Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia Colledge, Chicago, USA
Benziger Imagery Collection, Glen Ellen Winery, California, USA
KIASMA, Helsinki, Finland
Museu da Agua, Lisbon, Portugal
Siddhartha Art Foundation, Kathmandu
YATOO group collection, Gongju, Korea
Luciano Benetton collection, Italy
National Archives and Records Administration, Washington
China Printmaking Museum, Shenzhen
Monumental works in public space:
2023 "Arctic Sails", Tallinn Botanical Gardens
2016 "Ural Echo", 5 x 200 m of murals in Estonian National Museum
2013 "Therapia Floralis", (with Herkki E Merila) 9 small murals, Kohtla-Järve hospital
2009 „Lennart Meri", 2 x 9 m mural, Tallinn Airport
2008 „Elyseum", Meresuu SPA, 15 x 2 m murals, Narva-Jõesuu, Estonia
2007 „Heathen County", 4 x 90 m mural, South-East Center, Võru, Estonia
2002 „Reconstructing Tallinn" (with Ulvi Tiit and Madis Palm) 4 x 20 m mural, nightclub in Tartu
1999-2004 „Kütioru Nature Art Path" curating a collection of open-air art in South-East Estonia
Theatre and cinema:
2015–2019 “Jaik”, Von Krahl Theatre, co-scriptwriter
2011 Kilmi & Aarma „Martyrdom of Mattis", film studio Eetriüksus, actor2010 Group work „The End", Von Krahl Theatre, stage design with Taavet Jansen
1997 Volmer „All my Lenins" Faama film, actor
1990 Beckett „What? Where?" Estonian Drama Theatre, actor
1988 Karusoo „Children of Sick Parents" Estonian Drama Theatre, stage design with Aime Unt
Residencies
2018 Cotton Factory, Hamilton, Canada
2016 Ne'Na Contemporary Art Space, Chiang Mai, Thailand
2011 YATOO International Artist in Residence Program, Korea
2008 Binaural, Nodar rural art lab, Portugal
2006 Carrefour des Arts, Chapelle Uree, Normandie, France