Laura Põld

Laura Põld’s practice is focused on exploring the dynamic agency and expressiveness of materials and media. Põld works with a diverse range of materials such as clay, wool, textiles, plants, metal and wood, engaging with them as mediums and active companions. This material-driven approach invites a dialogue between human and more-than-human forces that allows the works to evolve through resistance, transformation and nurturance. Her immersive installations challenge conventional hierarchies between art and craft to reimagine traditional methods and forms of making.

By weaving together the threads of materiality, mythology and language, Põld’s work speaks to the intersections of craft, feminism, ecology and folklore. Põld draws, in particular, on the rich traditions of Estonian runic songs (regilaul) and shamanic motifs, through which she explores the otherworldly and mythical to craft new ways of seeing and understanding the world. Her recent projects also address Estonia’s environmental and industrial legacies, representing a commitment to bridging human culture with ecological consciousness. Through a sensitive interplay of fragility and strength in both materials and themes, she pushes against conventional boundaries, inviting fresh perspectives as she does so.

Laura Põld (b. 1984 in Tallinn, Estonia) is an Estonian artist living in Tallinn and Vienna. Her formal education includes the study of ceramics at the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) in Tallinn (BA), painting at the University of Tartu (MA) and sculptural conceptions and ceramics at the University of Art and Design in Linz (MA). She is currently a visiting associate professor of installation and sculpture at EKA.

Põld’s recent exhibitions include Down the Rabbit Hole, MO Museum, Vilnius, Lithuania (2024), Art in the Age of the Anthropocene, Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn, Estonia (2023); Common Threads, Polar Bear and Elephant, Kogo Gallery, Tartu, Estonia (2022/23); ars viva 2022 – Agents of Perception, Kai Centre, Tallinn, Estonia (2022); Walking Talking Minerals, Titanik, Turku, Finland (2021); Doing What They Do Best, Kunstraum Memphis, Linz, Austria (2021); Beings with – the wonder and trouble of togetherness, the Fiskars Village Art and Design Biennale 2019, Fiskars, Finland (2019); Descending from the liquid horizon, Le lieu unique, Nantes, France (2018/19); Hundreds of Illusions Charted as Land, Tartu Art Museum, Tartu, Estonia (2016). Recent art fairs in collaboration with Kogo Gallery include viennacontemporary, Vienna, Austria (2024, 2023); Esther, New York City, US (2024); Basel Social Club, Basel, Switzerland (2024); Art Brussels, Belgium (2023); Liste Art Fair Basel, Basel, Switzerland (2022).

Laura Põld has been awarded several prizes and scholarships, including the Claus Michaletz Preis (2021), the ISCP’s studio grant in New York (2019), the Grand Prize of The Cultural Endowment of Estonia (2018) and the Köler Prize Grand Prix (2016). She is and was also one of the recipients of the Estonian artist’s salary from 2023–2025 and from 2019–2021.

Põld’s works are in the collection of the Kunstmuseum Bayreuth and the European Central Bank Art Collection, Germany; The Art Collection of the State of Upper Austria and the collection of Gmundner Keramik, Austria; the collections of the Art Museum of Estonia and Tartu Art Museum, Estonia; the Zuzāns Collection and the collections of the VV Foundation and the Rothko Museum, Latvia.

Exhibitions at Kogo

Everyday Witchcraft

The Bambi Project

My Bitter Sweet Frankenstein Body

Common Threads, Polar Bear and Elephant

Emotional Landscapes

Showroom: Sweat and Dust

Superorganism

She Is Thinking About the Flammable Nature of Things

Press and Publications

Ways of Being / Laura Põld with Kogo Gallery at viennacontemporary 2023
Agnese Čivle. Arterritory. 30/8/2023

Proposing ideas, laughing and playing is probably the most beautiful vibe I know. Liisa Kaljula interviews Laura Põld
Liisa Kaljula. Echo Gone Wrong. 20/4/2023

III. Dear Vienna. An email interview with Laura Põld
Merilin Talumaa, Annika Toots. Echo Gone Wrong. 7/5/2020

Laura Põld’s solo exhibition “Hundreds of Illusions Charted as Land” at Tartu Art Museum
Echo Gone Wrong. 9/01/2016

Every Landscape is a Condition of the Spirit
Piret Karro. Kunst.ee. Eesti kunsti- ja visuaalkultuuri ajakiri. 1/2016

An Education – Laura Põld
Laura Põld. Estonian Art. 2/2014

Six Questions: Laura Põld
Tique.

CV

Laura Põld, born in 1984 in Tallinn, based in Tallinn and Vienna.

Education

2018-.2021	The University of Art and Design Linz, Department of sculptural Conceptions / Ceramics (MA);
2007-2010	Tartu University, Department of Painting (MA);
2003-2007	Estonian Art Academy, Department of Ceramics (BA).

Selected Solo- and Duo Exhibitions

2023	Fibers in the Cave, solo presentation at Art Brussels with Kogo Gallery, curated by Šelda Puķīte
2023	Translating and Co-labouring, AV17 Gallery, Vilnius
2022	The Nature of Measurement, Laura Põld and Magdalena Franczak, curator Stanisław Welbel, Austrian Cultural Forum, Warsaw, Poland.
2022	Common Threads, Polar Bear and Elephant, Laura Põld with Andres Tolts, curated by Šelda Puķīte, Kogo Gallery, Tartu, Estonia.
2022	(E)Motional Landscapes, Kogo Gallery representing Laura Põld and Kristi Kongi, curator Šelda Puķīte. Liste Art Fair Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
2021	Walking Talking Minerals, Laura Põld and Lou Sheppard, Titanik Gallery, Turku, Finland.
2021	Dirt is a record. Soil is an archive, POSITIONS Berlin 2021, Tempelhof Airport, Berlin, Germany.
2021	Dark blue smells salty, yellow tastes bitter, #09 Laura Põld, curated by Steffi Parlow, Kommod, Vienna, Austria.
2021	Doing What They Do Best, Kunstraum Memphis, Linz, Austria.
2020	Shedding Skin, Laura Põld and Piret Karro, Vaal Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia.
2020	Denial, Laura Põld and Katrin Väli, Tartu Art House, Tartu, Estonia.
2020	Beautiful Necessity, Laura Põld and Eva Volmerson, ARS Showroom, ARS ArtFactory, Tallinn, Estonia.
2019	Hello from inside, Studio #211, International Studio and Curatorial Program ISCP Fall Open Studios, New York, USA.
2019	Burrows. Flights, Laura Põld and Katrin Väli, Hobusepea Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia.
2018	Artists in Collection 10 x 10: Laura Põld, curated by Maarin Ektermann and Mary Talvistu, Kunda Cement Museum, Kunda, Estonia.
2017	So Small It Could Be Mine, Ateliers Höherweg e. V., Düsseldorf, Germany.
2016	Serving Makes Place, with Johna Hansen, Maebashi Works, Gunma, Japan.
2016	Awilda on a drift. Fireboat Tripitaka, Laura Põld and Johna Hansen, Christianshavn, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2016	Hundreds of Illusions Charted as Land, curated by Peeter Talvistu, Tartu Art Museum, Tartu, Estonia.
2015	Road To Silver Mine, Gallery Chemin Du Bonheur, Hokuto-Shi, Japan.
2014	The Night Your Mate Danced Like a Tree, Hobusepea Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia.
2014	Ruins, Monumental Gallery, Tartu Art House, Tartu, Estonia.
2014	A Walk, a Wall, Some Mountains, with Titania Seidl, Ulrike Hrobsky Showroom for Young Art, Vienna, Austria.
2014	To Go to Bed by Day, Kunstkabinett Kunstverein Bayreuth, Germany.
2014	Castle, Vaal Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia.
2013	Duo exhibition with Sigita Daugule, Galerie Hrobsky, Vienna, Austria.
2013	Attempts to Stage a Landscape, Tallinn Art Hall Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia.
2012	Carolina Cyclone, Showroom for Young Art, Galerie Ulrike Hrobsky, Vienna, Austria.
2012	Home Sweet Home, with Mari Prekup, Old Town Art Gallery, Vilnius, Lithuania
2011	Lost & Found, Tallinn City Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia.
2010	Hope You Dance, with Adrijana Gvoydenovic, bm:ukk exhibition space, Vienna, Austria.
2010	Conversations With the Curtain, Tartu Art House, Tartu, Estonia.
2010	Fear, Veiko Klemmer and Laura Põld, Draakon Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia.

Selected Group Exhibitions

2023	To mold, To hold. Currents in Estonian ceramics, curated by Kati Saarits, Raili Keiv, Laura Põld, ARS factory project space, Tallinn. Eesti.
2023	Art in the Age of the Anthropocene, curated by Linda Kaljundi, Eha Komissarov, Ulrike Plath, Bart Pushaw and Tiiu Saadoja, Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn, Estonia.
2023	shelter –sanctuary, curated by Helena Tulve, The Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia (EKKM), Tallinn, Estonia.
2023	INTIMTÄT Feelings are Facts, curated by Barbara Horvath, Kunstverein Eisenstadt, Austria.
2022	Growing Out? Growing Up? Contemporary Art Collecting in the Baltics, curated by Olga Temnikova, Zuzeum Art Centre, Riga, Latvia.
2022	My Bitter Sweet Frankenstein Body, curated by Šelda Puķīte, Titanik gallery, Turku, Finland.
2022	ars viva 2022 – Agents of Perception, curated by Maria Helen Känd, Kai Art Center, Tallinn, Estonia.
2021	Global Crises, Local Relationships, curated by Fruzsina Kigyós, Easttopics Gallery, Budapest, Hungary.
2021	Domestic Drama, curated by Cathrin Mayer, Halle für KunstSteiermark, Graz, Austria.
2021	The Bambi Project, curated by Šelda Puķīte, Kogo Gallery, Tartu, Estonia.
2021	Haus Wien, Favoriten, with PK/K, curated by Laurence Sturla Vienna, Austria.
2021	CREO ERGO SUM. Baltic Contemporary Ceramic Art. In the framework of the 3rd Latvia Ceramics Biennale programme, The Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Riga, Latvia.
2021	Lebhafte Materie, curated by Stephanie Winter & Jan Gustav Fiedler, Motherboard project space, Vienna, Austria.
2021	Mud mother #1 / Bathybius haeckelii, New Jörg, Vienna, Austria.
2021	T.O.M.B.O.L.A., bb15, Linz, Austria.
2020	6×2=75, Galerie Atelierhaus Salzamt, Linz, Austria.
2020	Ceramic Laboratory, Mark Rothko Art Centre, Daugavpils, Latvia.
2019	Bitter waters to reach the sweet, Alte Schieberkammer, Vienna, Austria.
2019	Beings with, curated by Jenni Nurmenniemi, Fiskars Biennale, Fiskars, Finland.
2019	What keeps me, curated by Pille Kaleviste, Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design, Tallinn, Estonia.
2018	Ascending From the Liquid Horizon, curated by Kati Ilves, Le Lieu Unique, Nantes, France.
2018	How to: Live. Virtual Biographies, curated by Marika Agu, Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia, Tallinn, Estonia.
2018	Lola Liivat. Spiritual resistance, curated by Hanna-Liis Kont, Tartu Art Museum, Tartu, Estonia.
2018	Everyday Witchcraft, curated by Merilin Talumaa, Kogo Gallery, Tartu, Estonia.
2018	Contemporary Art from Estonia, curated by Britta von Campenhausen, ECB, Frankfurt, Germany.
2018	Boarderline, curated by Peeter Talvistu, Valga Museum, Valga, Estonia.
2018	A Hole in the Grey Curtain, curated by Sam Basu, Treignac Projet, Treignac, France.
2018	No Reptiles, Justice, curated by Sebastian Mittl, Vienna, Austria.
2018	Elisabeth Altenburg / Nahid Behboodian / Laura Põld, Atelierhaus Salzamt Linz Gallery, Linz, Austria.
2017	Failure / Afterlife, Estonian Photographic Art Fair, Telliskivi Creative City, Tallinn, Estonia.
2017	MUSAO, Masc Foundation, Vienna, Austria.
2017	Intra-Structures – Monster of the Seven Lakes, curated by Jussi Koitela, Treignac Projet, Treignac, France.
2017	Structured Frustrations, curated by Samira Hashemi, CC. art space Isfahan, Esfahan, Iran.
2016	Shiro Oni Studio, group IV 2016, Onishi Brewery, Gunma, Japan.
2016	The Great Painter, curated by Liisa Kaljula, Evald Okas Museum, Haapsalu, Estonia.
2016	Sense of Place, Tallinn Art Hall Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia.
2015	New Building, Tartu Art Museum, Tartu, Estonia.
2015	Art Market Budapest, represented by Vaal Gallery (EE), Budapest, Hungary.
2015	Tule lummuses, Kohila Sümpoosium 15, Tallinn Art Hall Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia.
2015	Fucking Andy, Eden, Techno, Disco. Mo. ë, Vienna, Austria.
2014	New Material, Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia, Tallinn, Estonia.
2014	Väljasõit rohelisse. Tartu 1860-2014, Tallinn Art Hall, Tallinn, Estonia.
2014	Tallinn – Carcassonne, Jesuit College and Chapel, Carcassonne, France.
2013	Kunst in der Landschaft 9, Gut Gasteil, Prigglitz, Austria.
2013	7. ICA, Art Without Borders, Kulmbach, Germany.
2013	CHA-2013, The Central House of Artists, Moscow, Russia.
2012	Archeology and the Future of Estonian Art From Private Collections, Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia, Tallinn, Estonia.
2012	Collection of Desires. Privatized Art, curated by Anders Härm, Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia, Tallinn, Estonia.
2012	Reproduktionen, Künstraum Zögernitz, Vienna, Austria.
2012	7 Ateliers: exhibition and open studios, Showroom Ulrike Hrobsky, Vienna, Austria.
2012	NordArt 2012, Büdelsdorf, Germany.
2012	NOT ONLY, Factory-Art Gallery, Berlin, Germany.
2012	Collective Video Bohai, Luminale 2012, Frankfurt, Germany.
2012	TALLINZ, Atelierhaus Salzamt, Linz, Germany.
2011	Estonian Painting: Laura Põld, Maarit Murka, Sirja-Liisa Eelma, Old Town Art Gallery, Vilnius, Lithuania.
2011	Young Painter Prize 2011, Art Center Titanic, Vilnius, Lithuania.
2011	The Family, März Project Space, Tallinn, Estonia.
2011	Confrontations and Provocations. An Insight into Estonian Contemporary Art, curated by Eha Komissarov, National Museum of Warsaw, Poland and Contemporary Art Museum, Szczecin, Poland.

Curated Exhibitions

2021	Mountains are time, Atelierhaus Salzamt, Linz, Austria.
2018	one-on-one. on skills, curated together with Kati Saarits, Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia EKKM, Tallinn, Estonia.

Residencies

2020	Ceramic Laboratory, Latvian Centre for Contemporary Ceramics;
2019	International Studio & Curatorial Program, ISCP-EKKAK residency, New York, USA;
2018	Kunda Cement Museum;
2018	Atelierhaus Salzamt Linz, Austria;
2017	Treignac Projet, France;
2017	Va space for contemporary art, Isfahan, Iran;
2017	Ateliers Höherweg e.V. Düsseldorf, Germany;
2016	Maebashi Works, Gunma, Japan;
2016	Shiro Oni Studio, Gunma, Japan;
2015	AIRY, Kofu, Yamanashi, Japan;
2014	XIV International Kohila Ceramic Symposium, Kohila, Estonia;
2011	Atelierhaus Salzamt, Linz, Austria;
2010	Artist in Residence, Schloss Laudon, Vienna, Austria.

Prizes and Scholarships

2021	Claus Michaletz Preis, POSITIONS Berlin 2021;
2019-2021	Artists’ and writers’ wage grant, Republic of Estonia Ministry of Culture;
2019	ISCP-EKKAK residency at ISCP, New York;
2018	Annual Award of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia;
2016	Köler Prize grand prix;
2014	Annual award of Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Foundation of Fine and Applied Arts;
2013	Ado Vabbe prize;
2009	DoRa scholarship, CAA conference, Los Angeles, USA;
2008	Eduard Wiiralt prize;
2008	Kalmus scholarship for a young artist.

Professional Membership

2021	forum – Kunstuniversität Linz;
2021	IG Gildende Kunst, Wien;
2018	Estonian Ceramists’ Association;
2011	Tartu Artists’ Union;
2010	Estonian Artists’ Association.

Works in Collections

European Central Bank Art Collection, Frankfurt, Germany
Bayreuthi Art Museum, Germany
Tartu Art Museum, Estonia

Monograph

Peeter Talvistu (ed.), Laura Põld and Hundreds of Illusions Charted as Land, Tartu Art Museum, 2016

Selected Publications in English

Stacey Koosel, Beige Magic, Arterritory 27.08.2018.
Artmirror, “Everyday Witchcraft” at Kogo Gallery, 23.08.2018.
Photo reportage from the exhibition ‘Everyday Witchcraft’ at Kogo gallery, Echo Gone Wrong, 20.08.2018.
Six Questions: Laura Põld, Tique | art paper, 2017.
Merilin Talumaa, Annika Toots (eds.), Artists’ Spaces. 16 studio visits, Estonian Academy of Arts Press, 2017.
Maris Karjatse, Means of Reaching a Destination, Magazine of Art and Visual Culture in Estonia KUNST.EE, 2/2016.
Köler Prize 2016, Tique | art paper.
Photo reportage from Johna Hansen, Katrine Gram Sloth and Laura Põld’s joint exhibition at the Art Hall Gallery, Tallinn, Echo Gone Wrong, 20.04.2016.
Agnese Čivle, Odrija Fišere, Baltic Art Superstar, Where Are You?, Arterritory, 06.04.2016.
Jessie Churchill, Looking at Painting. Volume 2, Leeds, 2016.
Emma Duester, Artist Mobility and the Baltic Cities: Revealing a Transnational Art World, Echo Gone Wrong, 18.02.2014.
Laura Põld, An Education – Laura Põld, Estonian Art 2/14.