October. Lilac Gray

This is Saadoja’s last work from his new series. He has painted himself to the point of being ready to take risks: the house on the corner of Kullassepa and Kuninga Streets, which can be seen from the window of his studio, has become almost invisible in this picture, wrapped in fog and blurred. Dull ochre, warm pink, olive green, blue and finally, lilac grey – these titles definitely say less than the visual experience itself. These are shades resulting from endless blending, not pure colours. We could make a separate exhibition of Saadoja’s samples of mixed colours.

At his solo exhibition Studio in 2018, the artist exhibited eight colour boards. They were strong and loud in self-proclaimed tones and it was hard to believe that all of them consisted of numerous layers of paint applied on top of each other. Looking back at Studio, one cannot help but compare the different lessons in colour treatment given by Saadoja: the way such different effects can be achieved by using the different possibilities offered by the tools at his disposal.

“My relationship with art is quite transparent in that sense,” he says, readily showing his journey. And although it is difficult to take distance from the connoisseur’s joy of understanding, such a step is necessary. Because getting close to perfection is indeed what the whole journey has been all about.

“Art can set an example to people, showing how far a free person can move /…/ this is certainly not all that both the artist and the viewer are capable of. Or what they have been capable of in the past.” (Tõnis Saadoja)