Maarit Murka (1981) is a hyperrealist who comes from the younger Estonian contemporary artists generation. The artist has held 30 solo exhibitions and participated in more than 50 group exhibitions both in Estonia and abroad. Her works have been acquired by the private and public local and international collections.
The themes for Murka’s works come from life itself: urban living, collective histories, the everyday and the political climate. Estonians have always been frightened of a possible war with Russia; in light of this, Murka has considered Estonia’s current contribution to war zones and the life of soldiers in Afghanistan. However in other works Murka draws back from social criticism and instead dives into the human psyche, considering its essences through study of the Freudian subconscious. It is through explorations among this range of different subjects, while remaining true to hyperrealism in style, that Murka has painted herself into the history of Estonian contemporary art.
Maarit Murka is a painter who is constantly expanding and supplementing the boundaries of this media, both in terms of materials and atmosphere: with objects, sounds and smells. Her photorealistic or hyperrealistic paintings can be read as photography due to the mastery of technique, black and white colours, and cinematic framing. Cinema is an important theme for the artist: having graduated from the Estonian and Academy of Arts and Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts, Maarit Murka continues with her second master’s degree at the Baltic Film and Media School.