Martin Saar
Martin Saar was born 30 April 1980 in Tallinn, Estonia) and currently lives and works between New York and Tallinn.
Saar gained his MA in drawing at the New York Academy of Art in 2014 after studying at Kevade Street Art School and in 2002 graduating from Estonian Academy of Arts.
Saar’s work encompasses mosaics, paintings and watercolors as well as digital collages and videos. His work is informed by his love for music, which is translated into radical colors and expressive gestures. Saar’s tile series is an example of his evocative use of brushstroke condensed onto a small scale while his large-scale monochromatic paintings reflect on memories of his family life before Estonia’s independence in 1991.
Saar gained recognition as an artist for his mosaic paintings of New York celebrities, which were featured in the New York Times. Since then Saar has shown his work in over 10 solo exhibitions and several group shows. Saar’s work is represented in collections of art collectors such as Nancy Reagan, David Copperfield, Empress Farah Diba Pahlavi, Diane von Furstenberg, Carolina Herrera and many others.
Group exhibitions
- 2007 - Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery, New York / Photography Poetic Visions
- 2007 - Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery, New York / Nude exposed
- 2006 - Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery, New York
- 2006 - Estonia House, New York
- 2005 - Charles Cowles Gallery, New York
- 2002 - University of Arts, Tallinn, graduation show
Solo exhibitions
- 2007 - Bridge Art Fair, Miami
- 2007 - Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery, New York
- 2007 - ArtDepoo, Tallinn, Estonia
- 2007 - Soho House, New York
- 2006 - Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery, New York
- 2006 - Viviann Napp Gallery, Tallinn, Estonia
- 2004 - Surf Ambiance Gallery, Sag Harbor, New York
Press
- Fashionweekdaily, April 10, 2007
- Postimees, Arter, May 6, 2006
- Sirp, May 5, 2006
- * WWD, April 10, 2006
- New York Times, Sunday Style section, March 12, 2006
- Absolute New York Magazine summer 2005 issue
- A&F Magazine summer 2005 issue
- Stiil Magazine, April 2005 issue
- Dan’s Papers, December 3, 2004
- The East Hampton Star, December 2, 2004
- Eesti Ekspress, October 28, 2004