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
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.
Mari-Leen Kiipli