4th Latvia Ceramics Biennale announces the program
To turn the spotlight on contemporary ceramics in Latvia and internationally, the Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre once again joins forces with the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Ceramics to put together the 4th Latvia Ceramics Biennale with an exciting programme set to take over Rīga, Daugavpils and even Aveiro, Portugal.
Invariably, the focal point of the Latvia Ceramics Biennale is the Martinsons Award – an international juried exhibition at the Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre. This year, it will be opened on 8 September as the centrepiece of the venue’s approaching autumn exhibition season. The opening event will culminate with an awards ceremony, where an international jury will name the award winners in national and international categories.
This year, the Martinsons Award received a record 685 applications from artists representing 71 countries, including 68 submissions from Latvia, the largest number to date.
The Biennale will bring more than ten exhibitions of contemporary ceramics and a one-man performance by the award-winning Latvian ceramicist Dainis Pundurs. A new open-storage chamber for contemporary ceramics will be opened in a renovated and repurposed bastion casemate of the Daugavpils Fortress, followed by a public launch of an art catalogue documenting ‘The City of Dreams’ – the first permanent display of the Martinsons House.
THE BIENNALE PROGRAMME:
17 AUGUST, 5 p.m. /Rīga Porcelain Museum, 9/11 Kalēju Street, Rīga/
‘PAINTINGS’ – EXHIBITION OPENING
This cross-generational exhibition features porcelain painters practising this technique daily alongside those who take it up only on special occasions. The white smoothness and delicate physical properties of this fragile material inspire a broad range of creators to leave their mark in their chosen style, method and technique.
‘KUR’ – SYMPOSIUM EXHIBITION OPENING
From 3 to 12 July, the Music and Art School of Saldus hosted the KUR CERAMIC SYMPOSIUM, bringing together Ieva Jurka, Esmeralda Purvišķe, Jānis Leimanis, Diāna Boitmane, Lauri Kilusk, Joonas Parve, Elvīra Mahte, Kristīne Ozola, Baiba Šēna, Agnese Sunepa, Rūdis Pētersons. The exhibition celebrates their symposium output.
6 p.m. /Rīga Art Space, 3 Kungu Street, Rīga/
4TH LATVIA CERAMICS BIENNALE – OPENING CEREMONY
‘TERRA’ BY SANITA ĀBELĪTE – EXHIBITION OPENING
For Sanita Ābelīte, a porcelain artist, her atelier is a fairy-tale cottage of dreams where she creates charming ceramic vessels, stunning jewellery items and delicate figurines dressed in exquisite glazes. The artist’s creative record, ongoing since 2006, includes multiple solo shows along with countless symposiums, residences and group exhibitions across Latvia and beyond – in Denmark, Belarus, Italy, North Cyprus, China and more.
6 SEPTEMBER, 6 p.m. /Rīga Art Space, 3 Kungu Street, Rīga/
“WALKING TOGETHER: PORTUGUESE CONTEMPORARY CERAMICS” – EXHIBITION OPENING
The exhibition celebrates Portuguese artists who have exhibited in the Aveiro Biennale and are represented in its collection, which is an ongoing work in progress since the platform’s inception. The visitors are welcome to walk the exhibition space and explore three decades of development in Portuguese contemporary ceramics, with the exhibits dating from 1991 till today.
8 SEPTEMBER, 2 p.m. /4METRES Gallery, 8 Hospitāļa Street, Daugavpils/
ELĪNA TITĀNE AND UNA GURA – DUO EXHIBITION OPENING
Titāne’s style stands out with high aestheticism and technical sophistication. The artist celebrates nature through shape and texture, preferring subtle, implicit hints and references to direct depiction. Gura’s ceramics are made in her signature dotted pattern, adding an extra dimension to the underlying shape.
3 p.m. /The Martinsons House courtyard, 1 Nikolaja Street, Daugavpils/
‘VISUALISING GRAVITY’ BY DAINIS PUNDURS: PERFORMANCE
Open-storage chamber for contemporary ceramics at the Daugavpils Fortress 7th Bastion Casemate: unveiling the facility
Memorial catalogue on Pēteris Martinsons: book launch
4 p.m. /Mark Rothko Art Centre, 3 Mihaila Street, Daugavpils/
MARTINSONS AWARD – EXHIBITION OPENING AND AWARDS CEREMONY
This international juried exhibition is a testament to the current vitality of ceramic art and a tribute to Pēteris Martinsons – the world-renowned Latvian ceramicist. The competition is open to individual applicants and artist collaborations worldwide and attracts creators who are in touch with the latest trends in their country’s art scene and respond to these in their own creative practice.
‘ELEMENTS’ BY KASPARS GEIDUKS: EXHIBITION OPENING
This re-run event returns the spotlight to a remarkable exhibition that went largely unnoticed in the stranglehold of pandemic-dictated restrictions. The artist’s work covers acute social issues as well as questions about the body, its structural setup and self-awareness, along with instinctively shaped objects through which he contemplates the diversity of natural forms, creating his individual interpretation of the microcosm, space and its structure.
‘FEAR WHISERING’ BY Agnė Šemberaitė: EXHIBITION OPENING
The exhibition features ceramic sculptures by Agnė Šemberaitė – a prominent Lithuanian ceramicist and Gold Prize winner of the Martinsons Award 2021 at the 3rd Latvia Ceramics Biennale. Her work represents an ongoing exploration into human nature through a bold re-imagining of fairy-tale and sci-fi themes and characters, ritual practices, mythical beliefs and archaeological totems.
4 OCTOBER, 5 p.m. /Museum of Decorative Art and Design, 10 Skārņu Street, Rīga/
SELF MEDICATION. KOREAN CONTEMPORARY CERAMICS: EXHIBITION OPENING
Featuring 55 artworks by 16 Korean ceramicists, the exhibition traces creative responses to the unstoppable passage of time and poignant self-awareness of being inescapably anchored in time. The artworks range from multi-figure compositions referencing the nation’s historical memories to remarkably original ceramic vessels firmly set in the present day.
28 OCTOBER, time TBA. /Aveiro City Museum, Portugal/
THE BALTIC CURRENT. BALTIC CONTEMPORARY CERAMICS: EXHIBITION OPENING
This sweeping exhibition of Baltic contemporary ceramics promises exciting discoveries to the Portuguese viewership by tracing the latest trends and developments in the Baltic art scene and celebrating the region’s distinctive creative style.
Supporters: Daugavpils City Council, State Culture Capital Foundation and Latgale Region Development Agency through its target programme for Latvia’s historical lands
The event is organised with financial support from the European Union. Its content is the sole responsibility of the Daugavpils State City local government and does not necessarily reflect the European Union’s opinion.
Project No. LVIII-060, Heritage.lv
