Anu Põder

Anu Põder (1947–2013) was an Estonian sculptor and installation artist. Throughout her career, she experimented with new abstract forms and a variety of materials from plaster and wood, charcoal and textile, to light, scent and taste. Põder’s work was inspired by her own experience as well as her surroundings and environment in the city and in countryside, at home and at work. Põder’s pieces were time and site specific and created to be exhibited as such – the presence of the artwork relied on a performative effect, meaning the artworks disintegrate over time.

Anu Põder studied at Tartu Art School in 1967–1970 and at the sculpture department of the Estonian State Art Institute in 1970–1976. Until 1986 she worked as a freelance artist and after that shared her time between her artistic practice and her students at the Estonian State Art Institute and Tartu Art School. Põder has received the Kristjan Raud Art Award (2008), the Sculpture Quadrennial Riga Prize (2000), the Estonian Artists Association Award (1990), the Young Artist Award (1979) and the Teacher of the Year Award (1994). Põder’s works belong to the collections of the Tate Modern, Art Museum of Estonia and Tartu Art Museum.