„Poetic Inner Landscapes“ by Leho Rubis

On Friday, 4 April at 5.00 p.m. the painter Leho Rubis will open his solo exhibition Poetic Inner Landscapes at Vabaduse Gallery.

The exhibition follows the author’s creative path examining the relationships between consciousness, text and perceptual fields, based on Aldous Huxley’s essay The Doors of Perception (1954). The nature of consciousness, its emergence and relationship with perceptual fields are among the last questions science hasn’t been able to resolve. But a poetical answer can be found. And this is what the current exhibition sets out to do by using the works of various Estonian poets, artists, musicians and a few other undercurrents as source material... Static figures melting into landscape and text, dissolving the boundaries between consciousness and perceptual fields.

On April 4, the opening event of the exhibition will also feature the launch of the artist’s newly published catalogue, a talk between Leho Rubis and the poet Igor Kotjuh, as well as musical interludes on the harp by the composer and musician Liis Jürgens.

Leho Rubis (1975) is a visual artist, musician and orientalist. He studied painting (BA 2001) and art history (MA 2010) at the University of Tartu, Estonia. Since 2003, he has been studying North-Indian classical music and been part of various musical collectives. In the oriental field of subject his main focus has been the history of Buddhist iconic art, with main interest in the possibilities of depicting deeper states of consciousness.

This interest in the human mind is directly connected to the themes and motives of Rubis’ figurative paintings. Drawing from examples of different canonic art traditions of Eastern and European art history, he has created a painting style where outer dynamics have been minimized so that figures seem static, but the surface of the canvas remains as if alive. The main focus is on something that is indescribable, but still there – the awareness.

His personal exhibitions have taken place in Estonia, India and Egypt. In 2010, he  curated the Estonian artists’ exhibition Gift to Arvo Pärt to celebrate the composer’s birthday. From 2021 to 2023, Rubis was the organiser of the Oriental cultures festival paIDA that united the local culture with visual art, music and literature of Asian countries. Since 2021, he is the author of the music programme The time of Raga that concentrates on Indian classical music at Klassikaraadio (Estonian Public Broadcasting).

The exhibition Poetic Inner Landscapes will remain open until 30 April 2025.

The gallery is supported by the Estonian Ministry of Culture, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, and Liviko Ltd.

Vabaduse Gallery is managed by the Estonian Artists’ Association.

Additional information:
Vabaduse Gallery
Tel: +372 5805 0009
E-mail: vabaduse@eaa.ee
Vabaduse väljak 6
10146 Tallinn
Mon–Fri 11.00–18.00
Sat  11.00–17.00

Image: Rubis, Leho. Dream of textures (detail). Oil on canvas, 2024.