HERMANNTALVIK
An open conversation with MadisÜürike
LIINATALVIK
HERMANNTALVIK
An open conversation with MadisÜürike
LiinaTalvik
©Liina Talvik 2026
Original title: HermannTalvik- Öppetsamtalmed MadisÜürike
Translated from SwedishbyJaneDavis
Cover: Collageofdrawings-Hermann Talvik
Förlag:BoD ·Books on Demand,Östermalmstorg1, 11442Stockholm,Sverige,bod@bod.se
Tryck: LibriPlureos GmbH,Friedensallee 273, 22763Hamburg,Tyskland
ISBN:978-91-8134-994-8
HermannTalvikwithhis daughter Mirjam on hisknee, and to theright hiswifeIrma. Atypical imagefromour home, with many unfixedcharcoaldrawingspinnedtothe wall and hangingfromthe ceiling. 1960.Photograph: Sven Gillsäter.
HermannTalvik
31 May1906–11 January1984
Onenight in thelate1930s,he wassuddenlyabletoconveyhis profound spiritualexperiencesthrough hisart.Inhis longingfor freedom, hisspiritual andartisticworld had merged,fertilising andenriching each other. Theexperiences took shape, flowinglike rhythms, shapes andsymbols over thepaper before himonthe floor. In this limitless dimensionhefeltasifhewerewithout skin.A spiritualvisuallanguageunfoldedlikean ethereal pilgrim’sway.Sometimes like fragilepoetry, at others with dramatic violence. He fell in love with themonotypeatanearly age– this techniquethatcombines theuniquepossibilities of both painting andprintmaking.Withthe experiencesof thenight stillfresh andalive as vibrations within him, he paintedona sheetofglass andmadea single print. Andsohecontinued,for severalnights, with severaldifferent artworks.Mostlyincolour, butevenatsuchanearly stageofhis career as themasterof themonotype, he also createdblack-and-white monotypes.
Theinteraction betweenblack andwhite wasaninstrumentfor hisartisticexpression.Asachild he mixedcharcoalfromthe stovewitha fewdrops of rainwater, painting with sensitive fingersinsilky grey shades andpowerfulcoal-blacklines.His love of printmakingwas born from this musicalexperience. He wouldchoosehis technique to suit thesubject:linocutsfor powerful fields balancingeachother;etchingsfor light, depthand saturatedchasms; drypointsgivingmicroscopic variations in line anddark places of concealment; andmonotypes andpaintings offeringcosmicenvironments bathed in colour.
Landscapes,his conversationswithnature, hadpreviouslybeenhis most common subject. Nordid hislandscapeslacka soul. They were no mere depictions,theywere sensitiveinterpretations of theencounter betweenhis identity as an artist andthe silent freedomoffered by nature,which gave himstrength. He felt freedomjustasstronglyin thecascadesof dazzling sunlight as in thescent of newly-fallen snow.
At theage of just thirteen,he wasacceptedthrough specialdispensationbythe Tallinn StateArt School.Attwenty-two, he movedtoHelsinkitostudy at theart school in theAteneum.Soonstudy tripsinEuropealsoinspiredand expanded hisknowledge.Hehungered formore, andParis became hissecondhome. Butthe followingperiodofviolent upheavals in Europe wastoobstructhis freedom. Afflictedbysightsthatwould remain with himfor decades, andafter fleeingfor hislifetoavoid thefront,hewas forced to leavehis homeland.
In 1944 Sweden became hisnew home.Hesoughtout themountains wherethe crystalclear airwas saturatedonlybysilence andwhere thecurrent moment wasno longer athreat.
He didnot seek outthe companyofpeople. Aconstantdialoguewithnatureand proximitytoanastralworld were theonlycompanionship he required.Inpeoplehesaw thespiritasa light, andthatlight as part of God. Butheobservedwithsorrowthatthe individual rarely understood theirown spiritualwealthand competence,thatpeople lacked thetools to embark on theirown innerjourney,and that they were unawareof theirown role in agreater whole.
He hopedhis spiritualcompositionscould be thekey that opened emotionaldoors. In thesensitive observer’s eye, thegazecould be turned inwards. Inwardsfromthe proffered imageand into theindividual’sown spiritualpresence. Theaim of hiswork wasnot forthe viewer to gettoknow him better. Theaim wasfor them to gain agreater understanding of themselves.
He hopedhis artwould form an oasisfor meditation whereall experienceswere equallyvalid,where allpeoplehad thesamevalue andall languagesgainedthe same respect. Languagesbased on words,onrhythms,colour, shapeortones.
He knew that thelanguageof images is oneofunrestrictedinstantaneous communication,where theexperienceisbornfroma closerelationshipbetween thevisible and theinvisible,between theobjectand thevoid.
He knew that thewordcan causethe shimmerofexperiencetopale, andexistential claritytodissolve.
He wanted us to approach hisart as we do music. In thesameway that we allowthe notes of musictoenfoldus, he wanted us to become seekersinhis work.
He wanted us to show each otherrespect in ourclumsyattemptstodescribeinwords thepaths we wander on foreignsoil– wordsdesignedtofunctioninthe concrete reality in whichwe find ourselves, this realitythatiscomprehensibleand viewable over time, whereeverythinghas abeginning andeverythinghas an end.
’What do yousee?’ he asked. Often. Thequestionwas directed at our innermost being. Because what do we see? Whatdo yousee,and what do Isee?Who arewe? Do we truly knowwho we are? Youand I?
In the series An open conversation with , Italk to peoplewho,invarious ways,have been affected by my father HermannTalvik’s highly personaland sensitivecompositions.
My hopeisthat, as areader, youwill feel invited to mentally take partinthis conversation. That youwillpermityourself to reflect, questionand accept your own thoughts as well as my own–and ours.
In this book Imeet MadisÜürike, an art collectorand friend,who wasalso forced to flee from Estonia to Sweden in the final stage of theSecondWorld War.
Hermann Talvik (1906–1984)was aversatile artist, both in terms of techniquesand subject matter. His painting runs from lyrical
landscapes to spiritual compositions. His printsspanthe range from woodcuts and linocuts to drypointsand etchings.He wasalso themasterofthe monotype –a technique in whicha single copywas made fromapainting on a flat surface.
Much of hisart has its origins in experiences from aworld beyond thephysical one. The compositionsare loadedwith acomplex symboliclanguage –sometimesthe depictionofa violent event, sometimesan encounter in dazzlinglight– while others illustrateBiblicalstories.
He wasreluctant to talk about his ownvision and what laybehindhis works. He preferred noteventonamehis artworks, as he felt this would get in the wayofour personal interpretations. Interpretations that can be coloured by our unique experiences and which arelinked to our ownspiritual presence.
What do yousee?
