Laura Põld (1984) continuously explores fundamental human (and animal) needs, including community, safety and shelter. She started making paintings and installations referring to a sense of home and living abroad in the 2010s. In her latest work, she focuses on her choice of materials and their historical context, implementing traditional handiwork and building techniques like (primitive) ceramics and embroidery, which interest her as preservation of memory and experience. In her oeuvre, Põld has been engaged in creating a sense of place, combining and juxtaposing materially sensitive objects, narrative elements and memorabilia within the qualities of specific exhibition space. Her often large-scale constructions or installations either take over or interfere with the allocated exhibition venue and/or its context.

Laura Põld studied ceramics at the Estonian Academy of Arts, painting at the University of Tartu and sculptural conceptions and ceramics at the University of Art and Design Linz. She has been awarded with a number of prizes and scholarships such as the Eduard Wiiralt scholarship (2008), Ado Vabbe scholarship (2013), annual prize of The Cultural Endowment of Estonia (2014), Köler Prize grand prix (2016) and main prize of The Cultural Endowment of Estonia (2019). She is one of the laureates for the artist’s salary 2019–2021 and 2023–2025. Laura Põld is based in Tallinn and Vienna.