Archive

I like

Maija Bērziņa I like to live, painting the things I love, the things that fill my heart with joy and animate me, stirring my soul… I like the nature of Latvia, our rivers and blue lakes, the rolling sea, the golden beaches, the lithe figures of girls and boys astride galloping horses. Nourishment for the soul, beauty and joy, the deep-rooted power of the human spirit and the eternal cycles of nature, forever mine. I like the sharp gusts of wind, the moving, temperamental smears of colour and their swirling force… I like versatility – the bright and cheerful person, radiating light and overflowing with happiness, running barefoot towards me. The flow of life, subliminal nature, dappling sunlight that jumps and dances like a foal, the uplifting surge of a galloping horse, the creative, artistic process – that is what I like.

The Funen Printmaking Workshop – artist studio in Denmark

The exhibition programme of Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre continues to showcase local and international graphic art. Two major exhibitions of Latvian graphic art have been organised so far, and quite recently we were able to observe the stylistic variation of Estonian graphic artists. This time, we present graphic art created in Denmark. As seen from the title, the artwork comes from a printmakers’ studio located in Denmark. It has around 300 members, including Danish and international artists.

PEACE AND TENSION: Juried Group Exhibition by Artists from Latgale Region

Peace and tension – the two antitheses of the 21st century. These terms or elements of life accompany us all in our day-to-day routines. Each of us can perceive and make sense of these two phenomena in a different way. A worker's existential life is hinged on peace, which allows an individual as well as their family, relatives, friends or acquaintances to engage in human interaction. Based on peaceful, harmonised and, at the same time, dynamic development, it promotes their individual growth.

STEP BY STEP

Zsófia Karsai The wall could be the wall of consciousness – a symbol of safety and protection. Or perhaps it is safeguarding from the harmful effects of the outside world. It might also be a barrier between different emotions or perhaps a prison, a banister or an obstacle. We have all been walls and we have also stood on both sides as well. It is up to us where we choose to be.

KINGDOM

MÁRTA RADICS The exhibition displays attributes of an imaginary kingdom. The blurred fortresses, crowns and gates show the clouds and waves of water that are riding over the kingdom… The ruins of this ancient world have a profound effect on me, and they send humankind back through ages with their dignified balance. The ruins of the past surround our everyday life and radiate perfection in their own inadequacy. The elements in this space have such an effect on us that they help us remember, either consciously or subconsciously. Remembrance often appears in the form of a mood and feeling. The weather-stricken elements of rocks, castles and columns can start a story that can create a relationship between soul and substance.

EXHIBITION OF VIII INTERNATIONAL LATGALE GRAPHIC SYMPOSIUM

The eighth iteration of the International Latgale Graphic Art Symposium in Daugavpils has brought together eight participants who, in their own individual ways, all continue the rich traditions of past generation of graphic artists. Now the outcomes of two packed weeks of creative work are presented to the public. The graphic art symposium has proved its sustainability and relevance in the global community of graphic art. It can certainly be called a successful and valuable graphic art tradition in Latgale region. The symposium has provided a fertile ground for discussion and creative work in the cultural space of Latgale region by bringing together Latvian and international artists who have similarities and differences in the way they conceptualise and approach graphic art. These conditions have enabled a unique form of dialogue which does not require verbal speech, but rests on transfer and comparison of technical nuances and individual growth.

SOLARIS

Prof. Dr. Remigijus Venckus Exhibition: 18.05.2019 ‘Solaris’ is an art exhibition of a well-known Lithuanian media artist Prof. Ph. D. Remigijus Venckus. The exhibition will be opened at 7 p.m. at Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre.  Idea: On the Solaris Ocean. Lately I have not had much time for reading fiction, but I am actually missing the period of bookworming, which happened in my life some years ago. Thus, in the summer of 2017, I went back to my already forgotten reading activities. I spent half of my vacation near some Lithuanian lakes with a few interesting books, having nothing to do in my academic life. While there, I read ‘Solaris’ (1961), one of the most memorable Sci-Fi books ever written. The author of this impressive masterpiece was Stanislaw Lem, Polish intellectual and philosopher, winner of multiple international awards. I had never read anything by him before, but I had seen some films based on his books.

The exhibition “ ILLUSION OF TENDERNESS” from the painting collection of Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre.

The once dominant view of the female nature as inherently tender, delicate and docile is now increasingly contested as subjective and delusional, rooted in man-made myth rather than objective reality. The present-day image of a modern female is deeply dissonant with past conceptions as it incorporates new qualities, perspectives and features. And yet, is tenderness really a mere illusion?

UGUNĪ

Ovidiu Leuce, Delia Maxim, Pınar Baklan Önal                                       UGUNĪ, the concluding exhibition of the residency programme by Latvian Centre of Contemporary Ceramics, is held in cooperation with Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre. It is a joint project by three young ceramic artists who, for an entire month, worked side by side in Ceramic Laboratory in Daugavpils Fortress. A residency is a very special time and space where artists can be free from daily cares and worries, liberated from the trivia of organising their day-to-day lives. Instead, they are able to immerse themselves fully into creative processes, develop their skills and experiment with materials. It is a time for research, which often yields unexpected results that even the artist could not have hoped for.

Play of light and dark

Inta Celmiņa, Edvards Grūbe Painting will exist as long as light itself – colour and shape can appear in the most incredible ways, either through the artist’s conscious effort and intention or as unexpected twists of the endless game of themes, techniques and compositional arrangements. The title chosen by artists Inta Celmiņa and Edvards Grūbe for their joint exhibition project at Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre, at first glance, can seem frivolous and lacking proper gravitas. And yet, if we take care not to downplay the meaning of game to its narrowest sense and imagine our lives as journeys of perception, we cannot help but admit that we are all players in a universal game, so why not apply this term to artistic processes? The outcome of this game is known only to the players involved, but we see their artwork that has value in its own right inasmuch as it reveals the lived experience of each artist, things either specific to their backgrounds or common to all.