Open-air exhibition by Lilia Zeiļa at the 4METRES Gallery in Daugavpils Fortress
From 3 November, ceramic artist Lilija Zeiļa offers her latest solo show, “Happenstance – Natural Order”, at the glass exhibition space of the 4METRES Gallery in Daugavpils Fortress, 8 Hospitāļa Street.
With indoor encounters once again strictly limited and the evenings growing darker, Latvian Centre for Contemporary Ceramics in cooperation with Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre offers a new publicly available open-air exhibition by the Daugavpils-based ceramicist Lilija Zeiļa.
Potter, ceramicist and artist Lilija Zeiļa was born in Daugavpils in 1958. Clay and ceramics are her whole life – they set the course for her daily routines and submit to her will. Lilija became interested in ceramics as a schoolgirl, having visited the workshop of Staņislavs Vilcāns, an illustrious Latgalian potter. After graduating from the Rēzekne Secondary School of Applied Art, she became actively involved with the newly established art group of Daugavpils-based ceramicists. Lilija’s exhibition record, dating back to 1981, includes numerous solo shows in Latvia and beyond. In 1996, she took charge of the Daugavpils Ceramics Studio “Latgale”. Lilija has inspired and managed several ceramics-themed international projects, and studio work has made her a visible presence in Latvia as well as brought Latgalian ceramics to the attention of global audiences. The artist remains an active participant in exhibitions and international ceramic art symposia, where she shares her experience with countless international artists who admire Lilija’s work, happily passing her skills to the younger generation of creators.
Lilija Zeiļa’s sculpturesque ceramic objects, with their impressive folds and decorative elements inspired by natural textures, are brightened by fluid underglazes and glazes, painted in blackish-grey, bluish and reddish hues. Taken together, these features produce the effect of deep, nearly three-dimensional natural landscapes with a poetic feel. The artist’s virtuoso touch of colour emphasises the seemingly happenstance origins of her works along with their shapely expressiveness and pictorial sensuality.
The new exhibition on 8 Hospitāļa Street, Daugavpils Fortress, is available round-the-clock (excepting the current curfew hours). Its creation has been supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation.
