Archive

BORIS LURIE “ARTIST AND WITNESS”

Boris Lurie (Jul 18, 1924 – Jan 7, 2008), an American artist and writer, born in Leningrad into a Jewish family and grew up in Riga. From 1941 to 1945, he was imprisoned in German concentration camps. His mother, grandmother and sister were killed by the Nazis in Rumbula.

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.

I See Nature Like Paint: Gillian Ayres paintings 1972-83

One of Britain’s most significant abstract painters, known for her huge vibrant canvases bursting with colour.  Inspired by abstract expressionist art in the United States, Ayres painted in a lyrical, gestural, non-geometric abstract style that stood in contrast to the hard-edge forms of her contemporaries. Never didactic, her oeuvre illustrates an artist constantly experimenting with the possibilities of paint.

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.

A different Martinsons

To celebrate the 88th birthday of Pēteris Martinsons, Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre suggests taking a different view on the artist through an exhibition aptly named “A Different Martinsons”. It features select artwork from the Rothko Centre collection that depicts Pēteris Martinsons as he appeared to every artist – different and unique. Ceramic artist, educator and architect Pēteris Martinsons (1931-2013) had a highly charismatic persona. A true professional in the field of ceramics, a figure of authority among his many students and followers, a stage designer, actor, alpinist and nature lover, blessed with great wisdom, a broad knowledge of the world and unique suggestive powers. His active lifestyle and irresistible personality drew people like a magnet. Every moment spent with the artist was inspiring and left a huge impact, which was retained in lasting memories and tangible artistic outputs.