On March 14, the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design opens the exhibition “Martin Pedanik. Man Behind the Scenes,” a solo exhibition focusing on Martin Pedanik’s design work and practice. This first retrospective look at his three-decade-long career as a designer showcases Pedanik’s work as a graphic designer in diverse creative fields.

“I always strive to find universality and abstraction in my work and to create a good composition using minimalist means,” the designer describes his creative process.

The exhibition brings together a selection of printed materials, including posters, publications, books, brochures, flyers, vinyl covers, newspapers, and more. A recurring motif in Pedanik’s work is ornamentation—particularly Kizoo, a geometric character with staring eyes, created in the early 2000s. Kizoo evolves and takes on new forms across different materials. The exhibition is structured into five thematic sections, featuring both visually rich and minimalist collaborative projects. The works are grouped under the fields of art, architecture, and theater, as well as interdisciplinary patterns and the world of Kizoo.

Pedanik began his career in graphic design in the mid-1990s and has, in many ways, served as a bridge between different creative worlds. The exhibition includes designs for Terra Nova Press, Louis Kahn’s Estonian projects, the NO99 theater, the Center for Contemporary Arts Estonia, Tallinn Art Hall, the Estonian Art Museum, the music event series Bashment, the newspaper Sirp, and magazines such as KUNST.ee and Ehituskunst, among others.

The exhibition will be open until June 1, 2025.

Curator: Sandra Nuut
Graphic Designer: Martin Pedanik
Exhibition Designers: Mari Möldre, Merilin Kaup
Exhibition Team: Helen Adamson, Katharina Kala, Kristi Paap, Ketli Tiitsar, Toomas Übner
Language Editor: Hille Saluäär
Translations: Refiner Translations
Exhibition Production: BART.EE