Kristen Rästas

Kristen Rästas (b. 1992) is an Estonian artist. He has graduated from the faculty of fine art at the Estonian Academy of Arts BA in 2015 and MA in 2019. Rästas has taken additional courses in the Hungarian University of Fine Arts in Budapest, Hungary and in Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK), School of Arts in Gent, Belgium. The artist has been participating in exhibitions since 2012 and he has held or participated at exhibitions in Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Iceland and Belgium. Rästas works as an interdisciplinary artist who involves painting, conceptualist art and various multimedia projects in his artwork. His recent artwork has studied virtual and artificial landscapes, digital errors and the general obscurity of being an artist. Kristen Rästas is one of the artists working under the pseudonym Robin Ellis Meta and a co-founder of post-gallery.online web-based gallery. The artist lives and works in Berlin and Tallinn.


Education

 

2016–2019 Estonian Academy of Arts, fine arts, MA

2018 KASK the School of Arts Gent, fine arts, MA, exchange program

2014 Hungarian University of Fine Arts, fine arts, BA, exchange program

2011–2015 Estonian Academy of Arts, fine arts, BA

 

Solo exhibitions

 

2023 Wake Me Up When It's All Over. with Kelli Gedvil, Draakon Gallery, Tallinn, EE

2023 Look up. Look up in the sky. roam project space, Berlin, DE

2021 Somewhere over the rainbow II. Tartu Art House small gallery, Tartu, EE

2021 The Caretaker. Hobusepea gallery, Tallinn, EE

2021 Robin Ellis Meta, Kelli Gedvil, Kristen Rästas: Grow Up Get Over It, roam project space, Berlin, DE

2020 Somewhere over the rainbow. Vent Space, Tallinn, EE

2019 Robin Ellis Meta: New Year, New Me. with Kelli Gedvil and Anu Lehis, Post-Gallery pop-up gallery, Antwerpen, BE

2018 Stop! Breaking the fourth wall is a bad idea! with Victoria Holdt, KASK the School of Arts Gent glass corridor, Gent, BE

2018 Robin Ellis Meta: U+1F6AE. with Kelli Gedvil and Anu Lehis, Hobusepea gallery, Tallinn, EE

2018 Borders Within². Pärnu Artists’ House gallery, Pärnu, EE

2017 Purgatory. RÝMD video space, Reykjavík, IS

2016–2017 untitled. Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Tallinn, EE

2016 As in Flesh, So in Spirit. Musta Jala gallery, Saaremaa, EE

2016 untitled. The Living Room Cafe, Tallinn, EE

2015 Werewolf. Laagna library, Tallinn, EE

 

Group exhibitions

 

2023 YEAH, BUT ... Rabbithole, Berlin, DE

2023 Squeeeeeze! KVETCH x BLVSH x COVEN: Vorspiel (CTM and Transmediale festival), Mensch Meier, Berlin, DE

2023 Quicky - why not? Eberswalder Straße 30, Berlin, DE

2022 Exercises for Dreamkeeping. Balcony gallery of Aparaaditehas, Tartu, EE

2022 It's Lonely in the Metaverse. Rapla County Center for Contemporary Art, Rapla, EE

2022 A Fluid State of Mind: Baltic Painting in the Expanded Field. Pamėnkalnio Gallery, Vilnius, LT

2020 Selected artists by Rebel Art Management: Lekko, Djourina, post-gallery.online, Eberswalder Str. 30 Berlin, DE

2020 Arcadia. Infinite life gallery, Tallinn, EE

2019 Young Painters Prize'19 finalist show. Titanikas gallery, Vilnius, LT

2019 TASE'19 graduation show. Estonian Academy of Arts, Tallinn, EE

2018 Mind Mapping. Vaal gallery, Tallinn, EE

2018 Home and Away. Viljandi City gallery, Viljandi, EE

2017 Swipe to Engage. ARS house project room, Tallinn, EE

2017 EAA: Painting party video installation: Self-made. EKKM, Tallinn, EE

2017 RIGHT NOW! MONA The Museum of New Art, Pärnu, EE

2017 TMW: Young Art Talent competition. Wabadus cafe, Tallinn, EE

2017 TMW: Easy Access. Reisijate street, Tallinn, EE

2016 Viva Arte Viva. ARS house project room, Tallinn, EE

2016 Mimicry. Balti Jaam train station, Tallinn, EE

2016 untitled. RASK Attorneys-at-Law, Tallinn, EE

2013 Tuttuus. ARS house, Tallinn, EE

2013 Muuttuum. Draakon gallery, Tallinn, EE

2013 Muuttuum. Pärnu Artists’ House gallery, Pärnu, EE

2013 Do it. EKA Pseudo gallery, Tallinn, EE

2012 Pattern. Von Krahl, Tallinn, EE

2012 First Cut. Von Krahl, Tallinn, EE

 

Screenings

 

2023 Roaminale #2 screen: Robin Ellis Meta. roam project space, Berlin, DE

2019 ARS film festival AFF 2019: Robin Ellis Meta. ARS house project room, Tallinn, EE

2015 TASE FILM. Sõprus cinema, Tallinn, EE

 

post-gallery.online curatorial projects and web-based exhibitions

 

2023 Down the Rabbit-hole. Victoria Holdt, Kristen Rästas

2023 Anyone can confirm. Kaisa Maasik, Mari Männa, Camille Laurelli, Laura De Jaeger, Johannes Luik. Curated by Ian Simon Märjama

2023 Between the Invisible Walls. Amy Boulton, Keiu Maasik, Kertu Rannula, Kelli Gedvil

2022 How are we? Janne Lias

2022 Chronicles of Trap. Aksel Haagensen

2022 your brain is a bedroom. Maria Izabella Lehtsaar

2022 Stranger to the Trees II. Kat Austen

2022 Dreaming of Babylon. Tõnis Jürgens

2022 BLACK_BEARD. Six (Sigrit Lõhmus)

2021 Hum. Rasmus Mäkelä

2021 Dark Finitude. Sten Saarits

2021 input type=”slide”. Ian-Simon Märjama

2021 Hocus Pocus Zero Focus. Kennet Lekko

2020 No One’s Land. FREMEN

2020 Stranger to the Trees. Kat Austen

2020 The Lingering Unknown. Hanna-Liisa Lavonen

2020 Demiurgic meltdown. Egle Ehtjen

2020 pHoNe bAd, bOOk gOOd. Kristen Rästas, Kelli Gedvil

 

Auctions and fairs

 

2021 POSITIONS Berlin Art Fair. with Kogo Gallery, Flughafen Tempelhof, Berlin, DE

2021 Direkte Auktion II slot 15: I Miss Who I thought I Was. roam, Berlin, DE

2017 Tartu Young Art Auction. Tartu Centre for Creative Industries, Tartu, EE

2016 Tartu Young Art Auction. Tartu Centre for Creative Industries, Tartu, EE

2016 Tartu Young Art Auction. Tartu Centre for Creative Industries, Tartu, EE

2015 Tartu Young Art Auction. Tartu Centre for Creative Industries, Tartu, EE

 

Memberships

 

2021 Member of the MTÜ Eesti-Saksa Kunstikoostöö

2020 Member of the Estonian Artists' Union

2020 post-gallery.online web gallery co-founder and curator

2017 Robin Ellis Meta pseudonym artist grouping co-founder and member