Sten Eltermaa

Sten Eltermaa (1986) is an artist living and working in Tallinn. He has studied Photography at Pallas University of Applied Sciences (BA, 2014), Philosophy at the Universities of Tartu and Tallinn (BA, 2017), Contemporary Art at the Estonian Academy of Arts (MA, 2020). He has also been an exchange student in Portugal (ESAP, photography, 2008-2009), the Netherlands (KABK, autonomous arts, 2015-2016) and Belgium (LUCA, liberal arts, 2017-2018).

Eltermaa’s works can mainly be viewed as object- and material-based studies, with a window and/or glass as a main element and material. Eltermaa has photographed windows, written about them; created glass sculptures and written about all of it. In a broader sense, the topic connects with several keywords that define and construct our present: borders, invisible barricades-barriers, ideologies and real politics, personal data, transparency and its illusion, social segregation.

Eltermaa has had solo exhibitions in Draakon Gallery, EKA Gallery, Tartu Art Museum and Kanal Gallery. In 2020, he received the Young Artist Award of the Estonian Academy of Arts. In 2017, Eltermaa was awarded a chance to make an exhibition part of the series Noor Tartu. Eltermaa is a founding member of the artist-run-space Lofte, created in Porto in 2009.