A really cool art critic on Instagram is Jerry Saltz. He writes with passion, energy, and a casual, conversational tone. He makes art criticism fun and easy to understand, mixing deep knowledge with humor and personal stories. His style is bold and emotional—he’s just as eager to praise great art as he is to call out nonsense. He believes art should be for everyone and often shares advice to inspire young artists. His writing, like his social media posts, feels lively, unfiltered, and full of love for art.
I’ve been following him for at least five years. Since 2006, he has been senior art critic and columnist for New York magazine.
Today I saw an Instagram reel where Jerry Saltz says his dad is an illegal immigrant from Estonia!
That’s amazing. I’m half Estonian. To escape Stalin, my dad and grandma came over to America when my dad was 4 years old. Thus, I have an interest in Estonian culture. Being Estonian is unique. Here’s my flag flying from my house in honor of Estonian Independence Day.
Seeing one of my favorite art people is Estonian‽ What‽
I googled: Jerry Saltz Estonia
And got this chain of tweets.
1/10. My father came here an illegal alien from Estonia – escaping Stalin. The rest of our entire family disappeared. (I am an actual “anchor baby”). He found his way to Chicago and began manufacturing women’s lingerie. We lived poor on the south side of Chicago.
2/10. He was also a home-inventor. In the late 1950s he created this: The Dexter Hand Sewing Machine. You held it, squeezed in together and it sewed whatever you wanted. It was advertised late at night on TV in those cheapo cheesy commercials. It was a success.
3/10 We moved from our shit hole little apartment into a new suburban house in the Jewish suburbs. This is the first time I’ve set eyes on this thing since then. I was at @themuseumofmodernart today and Elba Rodriguez who works there stopped me.
4/10. She said that after she told her father that she’d met me he went and bought one of these on the eBay. I am speechless. All I remember is my whole life my father working at this little card-table with just a bare-bulb overhead.
5/10. He would always say to me, “try to come up with original ideas, Jerry.” I went 17-years without really seeing or speaking to him starting the night I graduated high-school at the bottom of my class and moved to Chicago that night. And never really saw him much again.
6/10. It’s just the way our family was. Messed-up. Like yours – just different. He invented many things after the sewing machine. None of them big successes. The sight of this thing lights me up with love.
7/10. That’s it. I thought there was more to say. Tell your American story.
Let me outline the commonalities. I can post these things publicly about my Dad, because they are also available on his website, matimaldrephotography.com.
Age
- Jerry Salz born in 1951.
- My dad, Mati Maldre, born in 1947.
College in Chicago
- Salz went to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1970 to 1975.
- My dad went to Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois, 1970-1972 (Studied with Aaron Siskind, Arthur Siegel, and Charles Swedlund.)
There’s an off-chance at some point Salz and my Dad crossed paths in Chicago. Huh.
N.A.M.E. Gallery in Chicago
- Salz co-founded N.A.M.E. Gallery in Chicago in 1973. He moved to New York City in 1980.
- My dad was in a number of gallery shows in Chicago during the 1970s. So their Chicago gallery time overlaps. After Salz left Chicago, my dad was in a N.A.M.E. show in 1986.
South side of Chicago
- Salz grew up on the south side of Chicago.
- I grew up on the south side of Chicago! (My dad grew up on the North side).
Industrial design
- Salz’s dad was an industrial designer at home.
- My dad briefly studied as an industrial designer. For his undgrad at University of Illinois at Chicago, he started off as an industrial designer, and then shifted over to photography. (Those Estonians! Always making quirky things)
Oak Park
Then in another tweet, someone said:
Fritzie Brown @ziebrown · Mar 12, 2020
I thought you said you lived in Oak Park!?Jerry Saltz @jerrysaltz · Mar 12, 2020
Moved to River Forest after Wilmette – went to Oak Park River Forest High School. You??
That’s amazing. Because I lived in Oak Park for a while too. Definitely not at the same time. LOL. Salz would have been about 1964-1968 (guessing based on his birth year). I lived in Oak Park 2015-2017.
Chicago Estonian House
- Saltz says he and his dad moved to Wilmette after Chicago. Wilmette is a north suburb, which would place it close to the Chicago Estonian House in Riverwoods. Actually, Wilmette is just a 30-minute drive to the Estonian House. I wonder if he ever went to the Estonian House.
- My dad and his mother and step-dad would often visit the Estonian House.