Izabella Krolle
ARTERY
In her solo exhibition ARTERY, Izabella Krolle poses questions that are vital to all artists and attempts to answer them in her own way. This exhibition is like a conceptual theatre of images, assembled into a complex yet holistic configuration. It makes no attempt to place any one piece in the limelight but rather presents them as a whole with an emphasis on interaction patterns and subtle games of relationships. What keeps the artist alive? What urges her to create, again and again? What are the origins of the artist’s inspiration, imagery and creative drive or spark?
Answers to these questions can be found in Izabella Krolle’s ARTHERY. Much like bloodstream that keeps the human body alive, the gallery of images born in the recesses of Krolle’s conscious and unconscious mind feeds the artist and sustains her wish to create, time and time again. This world revolves around a city with fairy-tale towers, inhabited by fantastic beasts and other creatures and ruled by Harlequin, a character from Italian commedia dell’arte. Only here, he is no clumsy jester, but a cheerful philosopher and a smart ruler who makes his subjects smile and live happily ever after!
Izabella Krolle was born in Daugavpils in 1938. In the 1940s, her father fell victim to political repression, and in 1946 Izabella’s mother with both her daughters moved to Rīga where Izabella finished Rīga Elementary School No. 49. Then came graduation from the Department of Ceramics at Rīga Secondary School of Applied Arts (1957) and tertiary studies at the Department of Applied and Decorative Arts at Latvian State Art Academy (1957-1963). The artist exhibits since 1958. Her work has been displayed in many group exhibitions in Latvia and abroad. Since 1970, Krolle has been one of the principal flamekeepers at the legendary art group “Ķīpsala Ceramics”. Although painting and graphic art have always been dear to her heart, ceramics is the art form that has played the decisive role in her creative pursuits. The artist has had countless solo exhibitions in Latvia and beyond. She is also an active participant of art symposia.
In her work, the artist deals with the problems of colouring and processing the surfaces of ceramics to achieve a next to perfect representation of the inner psychology of her original imagery. The language of Krolle’s artistic imagery is vivid and striking; in her ceramic work, temperament and attitude materialise actively and freely, creating a sense of lively and energetic alertness. The artist likes to make imposing, monumental works, drawing inspiration from nature’s motifs and forms.
As a rule, Krolle’s art is symbolic. It is a projection of her inner world, transformed into art with the passage of time, most often, into fantastic large-scale sculpted formations where anthropomorphic shapes are entwined with images seeped in allegory and symbolism.
