Karl-Kristjan Nagel

Karl-Kristjan Nagel was born in Tallinn, 1977. He grew up in artist family, his father and grandfather were both well-known Estonian painters. Karl studied in Tallinn Secondary Science School, after that he entered Estonian Academy of Art, as a painter. Academy years between 1995-1999 made a strong change to start his own art. The conditions to be an artist as a painter were complicated. The diploma was named "Lovers abort time" - two 3x7m paintings, showing woman and man, images that based to popular arthouse movies. Aside of painting he wrote a novel "Simple Time" (1997-2000) and was interested of making videoart (film "Epoch" with Tiiu Rebane, 1999). He was planning to go to the filmschool, but choosed to learn in homestudio (Last-Studio). Between 1998-2005 he made series of videos ("Lumpen intelligence", "Media enthropy", "Erudition of a misanthrope" etc), all together more than 100 works. He also started with sound projects ("Rule", "Tyrisalu", "Reri Brix") to make music for his movies.
In his first soloexhibition "Suffer Like Animals"(2000) he used painted texts in his works. Between 2000 and 2004 he made eight exhibitions, where he also presented variety of his videoseries. "The truth ” in Vienna (2001),"Neoconformism" (2001),"Comedy pathology" (2002), "Matter" (2002) and "Surrend" (2003, with Tiiu Rebane) were some of them. Paintings in this period were about practical connections between health and mind (using texts by the famous estonian writer and doctor Luule Viilma), and rebellious death (series about dead soldiers and chechen fighters).  His abstract and agressive painting style turned more realistic and figurative. Year 2005 he exhibited new series of works about young russian political activists ("Homeland daughter calls"). After that he was interrogated by the Estonian Security Police. At that year he also presented his works ("State Terror") in open space close to II World War Monument of Liberators in Riga, Latvia. Year 2007 exhibition "Execution" was with Tiiu Rebane in Tallinns main gallery Vaal. Paintings were portraits of Luule Viilma, Buryat Buddhist lama Dashi-Dorzho Itigilov, russian opposition leader Eduard Limonov with his family and one more work about movies - japanese samuraiepic "Daibosatsu Pass" and its main character. Last two years he has continued with paintings about movies. "The Drummer Crab", "The Desert of Tartars" and "The Mother and the Whore" are the titles from the past that represent poetic approach to the local restrained culture. Also he has done several paintings about russian punk-rock musician Egor Letov (group "Grazhdanskaya Oborona").

In 2009 he started to make new series of art about world secret societies and their crimes against humanity like health care / climate gate scam, global economy crash to build One World Government and possible World War III in 2012.