The Kristjan Raud Art Award is Estonia’s oldest art prize, established in 1973. It is presented annually by the Estonian Artists’ Association in collaboration with the Tallinn City Government. The award honors outstanding achievements in the visual arts and may be given to individual artists, art historians, creative collectives, projects, or events.
Urmas Lüüs is recognized for his exceptionally prolific creative work in 2024.
Urmas Lüüs (1987) is a versatile artist whose practice lies at the intersection of visual art, material-based disciplines, and performance. He holds both a BA and MA in blacksmithing from the Estonian Academy of Arts, but his work ranges from large-scale installations to theatrical productions.
In 2024, he made his directorial debut with the existentially utopian comedy Aunt Õie’s 65th Birthday, presented at Kanuti Gildi SAAL — a production that turned everyday life on its head. In October, Kumu Art Museum opened a solo exhibition curated by Eero Epner titled The Life and Death of Mr. N. The Bourgeois Rooms of Urmas Lüüs. Earlier in the year, his solo exhibition Human! God Created You from Nothing, and That Is Far Too Apparent was shown at Tütar Gallery, revealing Lüüs’s ability to construct decaying and dismantled worlds.
Lüüs is a skillful and compelling storyteller. Through poetic imagery and layered meaning, he evokes a sense of unease — drawing the viewer’s attention to the hidden dangers that lurk behind the illusion of normalcy. In addition to his artistic practice, Lüüs is a respected lecturer at the Estonian Academy of Arts and a thoughtful writer, exploring themes across contemporary applied art, design, and theatre. Starting 2025, Urmas Lüüs is also among the recipients of the Estonian artist salary.
Photo: Ken Mürk/ERR
