Exhibition in the Omicum gallery: "Sacred sites of the Estonian people"

Starting from 7 October, a new exhibition themed "Sacred sites of the Estonian people" is shown in the Omicum gallery. The author of the works depicting holy springs, altars, altar stones and churches is Piibe Arrak.

Piibe-Imbi Arrak (Müürsep) was born in Tallinn on 13 December 1939. She graduated from Tallinn First Secondary School (now Gustav Adolf Gymnasium) in 1958 and from Tartu Art School in 1962. Her mentors in painting were Harri Puudersell, Ilmar Malin, Alfred Kongo and Artur Lokk. In 1963 she joined the Erich and Melanie Arrak's painting studio (1960-1967), which kept alive the Pallas painting tradition. Erich and Melanie Arrak had both studied at the Tartu Art Institute, a direct descendant of Pallas. Their teachers were "pallatians" Võerhansu, Kits and others. They were committed to painting and to passing on their skills.

Piibe Arrak has stayed true to what she has learned. Her subjects include landscapes, portraits, flowers and paintings for children. To express herself, she mainly creates oil paintings alongside pastel and watercolour. Mountains and sacrificial stones are a separate part of her landscapes. Painting them, she uses her own relief technique – thick and rough oil paint on a flat background. This technique is also often used in her flower paintings. Sometimes she leaves part of the picture surface uncovered from paint.

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About the author

Piibe Arrak has been exhibiting her works in Tartu since 1967. She has had three solo exhibitions in Tallinn, two in Haapsalu and about a dozen in Tartu. Today she is a member of the Tartu Artists' Union and the Estonian Painters' Union. In 1972 Piibe Müürsepp married Erich Arrak's younger brother, artist Eevart Arraku. The family had children Andres, Marika and Katrin.

Erich and Melanie Arrak's painting studio

Despite difficulties, the painting studio was set up in 1960 in Tartu, on Veeriku Street, and the lessons there were free of charge. Painting sessions took place on weekends and etching sessions during Wednesday evenings. Through the seven years of its operation, Eevart Arrak, Lembit Lepp, Aksel Eist, Jüri Marran, Hillar Kärna, Piibe Müürsep (Arrak) and Maie Paju, among others, all got their roots from there.

Exhibition will be on display from 7 October – 17 November 2024

  Riia 23b/2, Tartu   Curator: Sulev Kuuse