Artist Iveta Vecenāne weaves Rothko into textile
On 24 April, the Rothko Museum in Daugavpils will open “Transposition. The Rothko Motif”, a solo exhibition by Latvian textile artist Iveta Vecenāne, offering a compelling contemporary dialogue with the legacy of Mark Rothko.
Working in classical tapestry, Vecenāne translates selected works from Rothko’s Surrealist period into woven form. Her reinterpretation of their fluid lines and nuanced chromatic structures draws attention to a lesser-known yet formative phase in the artist’s development, marked by pictographic elements, biomorphic shapes and a search for a more instinctive visual language. Rather than reproducing the originals, the exhibition approaches Rothko’s imagery as a space for transformation, expanding it across material, scale and time.
One of Latvia’s leading textile artists, Vecenāne is known for her technically refined and conceptually sensitive practice, often exploring the dialogue between material, structure and image. In this exhibition, her chosen medium of tapestry lends Rothko’s early imagery a new tactile presence, inviting a slower, more intimate way of seeing.
“Rothko could hardly have imagined how his works might be rendered in weave,” the artist says. “His watercolours are flowing washes of colour – paint settles in luminous layers, allowing the warmth and grain of the paper to softly shine through. An exact replication is neither possible nor necessary. What really matters is preserving the shimmer, the movement, the vibrancy – that quiet, enigmatic force at work within them.”
The exhibition forms part of a wider opening-day programme at the Rothko Museum, which will also unveil a new permanent display, “Rothko. From the Family Collection”, reinforcing the museum’s unique role in providing access to Rothko’s art in Eastern Europe.
The programme will conclude with “Fields of Colour”, an acoustic jazz concert by the Matthias Van den Brande Quartet (Belgium), where sound picks up on Rothko’s visual language.
The opening begins at 4 p.m. with the concert closing the programme at 5:30 p.m.
Admission to both exhibitions is free on opening night.
Supported by the Daugavpils City Council and the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia, “Transposition. The Rothko Motif” by Iveta Vecenāne will be on view at the Rothko Museum from 24 April to 30 August 2026. Meanwhile, “Rothko. From the Family Collection” will remain on show until April 2029.
Publicity image: Iveta Vecenāne, The Rothko Motif I, 2024, wool, cotton, 150 x 205 cm. Inspired by Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1944, paper, watercolour, 40 x 57,2 cm.
