TALLINN, ESTONIA 

Mark Antonius Puhkan is an Estonian artist, illustrator, and lecturer. In his artistic practice, he mainly works with drawing and printmaking techniques. As an illustrator, one of his favorite mediums is graphic novels. He tends to incorporate elements of comics into his art practice outside the book medium as well. The most important subject matter in his works is the relationship between human beings and wild nature—both the wilderness surrounding a person and the wilderness within oneself. He feels the need to reestablish bridges of empathy between diverse nature and civilized humankind. In his works, he aims to give shape to things that are not often seen or that lack a visual form altogether. He represents invisible elements such as sounds, thoughts, feelings, energies, smells, and dreams in a visual symbolic form.

EDUCATION

2017–2020 Estonian Academy of Arts, Contemporary Art, MA

2013–2016 Estonian Academy of Arts, Graphic Art, BA

2008–2012 Tallinn School of Arts

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 

2022 Growth rings, Kondas Center, Viljandi, curator K. Ritval

2023 Mirror - Face to Face. Villa Galdogno and Tohisoo manor, Italy and Estonia, curators I. Heamägi, V. Bertesina

2022 Baltics Gone Wild. Babajaga Fest, Industrie Fluviali, Rome, Italy, publisher kuš!, curator D. Schilter

2019 Dark Matter. Tartu Art House, Tartu, Estonia, curator L.K. Repnau

2019 As Above so Below. Yerevan Museum of Modern Art, Armenia, curator G. Koppel

2018 Estonian 100 in Latvia. Mark Rothko Museum, Latvia

2015 12. Baltic biennial of graphic arts: Kaliningrad-Koenigsberg 2015. Kaliningrad Art Gallery, Russia, curator of Estonian exhibition L.Koppel

WORKS ARE PRESENTED

Villa Galdogno collection, Italy

Tohisoo manor collection, Estonia

Art collection of the National Library of Estonia

LINKS

https://www.facebook.com/markantonius.puhkan

https://www.instagram.com/mapuhkan/

ARTIST VOICE 

I create work inspired by things I have personally seen, felt, and experienced. Even when incorporating fantastical or abstract elements, each one holds personal meaning. Nothing is included just to make the image more interesting or visually pleasing. Every detail serves as a word in a sentence, and these visual sentences give me a voice within the language of art. For me, art is a form of communication without spoken words—it transcends borders, speaks across time, and addresses the nameless.

My inspiration comes from moments when I encounter the raw, untamed beauty of nature—nature that many people fear or reject. I aim to reveal the beauty of this wildness, which often stands in contrast to the structured, controlled environments we have created. Through my work, I invite people to embrace the chaotic wilderness both around them and within themselves.