Silja Salmistu

Silja Salmistu is Estonian artist living and working in Denmark. Since 2016, she is dedicated to soft pastels, with still life as the main subject.
Graduated with honor from Tartu Art School in 1986– coping with the circumstances of control, cencorship, limited knowledge about art developments and constant lack of art supplies under the Soviet Union occupation.
Earned a MFA equivalent degree in painting in Tartu University in 1994, during the transition from collapsed communist regime to modern democracy.
The contrasts can also be traced in her art – strict control with realistic detail here, free improvisation with loose abstract mark-making there; awareness of tradition combined with modern experiments; happy carefree florals side by side with thought-provoking compositions of hard issues like war, violence, abuse etc., staged as a kid`s play with toys.

Salmistu prefers to paint from life, to share the room and time with her objects. She closely observes them and interprates the visual perception on her paintings, with special focus on light.

She is a multiple award and competition winner, both on the international pastel scene and in Danish and Estonian all-media juried exhibitions.
Salmistu has exhibited in numerous jurie...

1989 -1994 Tartu University MFA painting
1982 -1986 Tartu Art School designer-decorator

2022 Salon International The Art of Pastel, Abbaye du Valasse, France

2022 IAPS Juried PastelWorld Exhibition, 8th Master Circle Division, Albuquerque,NM, USA

2022 UArt Annual Online Competition (2nd prize and Honorable Mention)

2022 Gallery Nakke Hage, Nykøbing Sjælland, Denmark

2022 PGE Get Dusty online competition May (1st place)

2022 Pastels Girault, Galerie d`art, Montignac-Lascaux, France

2022 The 5th International Biennale Pastel d`Opale, Saint-Léonard, France (4th place award)

2022 PGE Get Dusty online competition March (Honorable Mention)

2021 Les Pastellistes, PSEC 26th International Juried Exhibition, Canada2021 IAPS Juried Webshow The 7th Master Circle Division

2021 2nd Salon International du Pastel, StBrisson-suir-Loire, France

2021 Artists`Group Storebælt Fall Exhibit, Fæstningen, Korsør, Denmark

2021 Giverny 2021 APF International Juried Exhibit, Giverny, France

2021 Enduring Brilliance PSA 49th Annual Juried Exhibit (HK Holbein Award)

2021 Pure Color PSNC 5th Annual Juried Exhibit (Herb Slapo Memorial Award)

2021 PSWC 35th International Exhibition `Pastels USA: 99 Voices in Pastel (Juried) www

2021 Kunst i Festen 2-4.06 Gallery Røde Tårn, Slagelse, Denmark

2021 IAPS 3...