URMAS LÜÜS
Estonia

MEET THE ARTIST!

Which materials do you enjoy working with the most, and why?

As I graduated both my BA and MA as a blacksmith, then I have a special connection to iron. I don't rank materials hierarchically, but I can certainly say that, for me, iron is more equal among equals.

Which step in your process goes unnoticed but is absolutely essential?

Sleep! I have always had a higher need for sleep than my friends. Even in my thirties I need minimum 9 hours of sleep every night. I can sleep for 12 hours straight and still go to sleep next night without problems. Without enough sleep I feel like a zombie and nothing works out.

Do you work more intuitively or according to a plan?

Like they say: Im not an early bird or a night owl, I am some form of permanently exhausted pigeon. Making plans is not my strength.

What is the one tool in your studio you couldn't live without?

Angle Grinder and cassette player (I collect alternative music on cassette tapes)

What music is usually playing in your studio?

Oh damn, where to start... I have a cassette tape collection with around 800 items. Did not plan to start a collection, but it somehow happened that most alternative music was given out on cassettes. I usually buy them straight from the artists, concerts, small producers etc. Most tapes are in the genres: punk, hardcore punk, crust punk, powerviolence, black metal, doom metal, dark ambient, experimental electronics, shoegaze, dreampop, hyperpop, indie, garage rock, grunge, post rock, harsh noise, ethnic recordings, world music, post punk, hip hop, industrial, classic music, modern avantgarde, musique concrete...

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting to collect jewellery?

Don´t start to collect. Just buy the works that you adore and makes you feel inspired. One day you will find out that you have a collection.

What is the most unexpected material you have ever incorporated into your work?

Its not a material, but rather a place. My band got an invitation to play live music during a SM swingers sex party. I will not go into details :)

BEHIND THE PIECE

An old enamelled oven, cut into pieces and given a completely new life.
This is how the Folded Brooch takes shape.

EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS

• 2026 What has been is written in my flesh, Ekspeditsioon, Tallinn (EE).
• 2026 God, if you are everywhere, then why an I still somewhere else??, Võrumaa Museum, Võru (EE).
• 2025 Monolith: Estonia, Von Krahl Theatre, Tallinn (EE).
• 2025 Who´s in the Garden?, Ants Laikmaa Museum, Kadarpiku Village, Lääne –Nigula County (EE).
• 2024 The Life and Death of Mr. N, KUMU Art Museum, Tallinn (EE).
• 2024 The 65th Birthday of Aunt Õie, Kanuti Gildi SAAL, Tallinn (EE).
• 2023-2024 Man! God has created you out of nothing and it´s felt too often in your case!, Tütar gallery, Tallinn (EE).
• 2023 An Owl Screamed and the Samovar Hummed Without Stopping, HOP gallery, Tallinn (EE).
• 2022 Overcrowded loneliness, Sõltumatu Tantsu Lava (Independent Dance Stage), Tallinn (EE).
• 2021 Yet Another Example of the Porousness on Certain Borders, Hobusepea gallery, Tallinn (EE).