Archive

„THE GATE TO KURZEME”

THE GATE TO KURZEME (A travelling exhibition of the 2014 Art and Poetry Days in Kurzeme)   One of the traditions characteristic of Kurzeme is to organize Kurzeme Art and Poetry Days every other year, done already for the tenth time (since 1999). Every time, the festival is organized by some of a bigger town of Kurzeme. This year, the artists of Tukums joined their forces with writers and held a joint art and poetry festival. The artists created art works where poetry and art were merged into a united synthesis (a video “Pretī” [Opposite], poets’ dedications to art works “Readings of the Exhibition” etc.). The festival was aimed at demonstrating the latest achievements of Kurzeme artists and writers, their joint analysis of processes and at setting aims for the future. Consequently, the exhibition “The Gate to Kurzeme” was organized, and it included art works created by artists from towns and cities (Liepāja, Ventspils, Saldus, Talsi, Tukums, Kandava, Aizpute), from seaside villages (Saunags, Vaide, Kolka, Kaltene), as well as from other places of Kurzeme. It incorporated and joined various kinds of art and different generations of artists, thus showing art tendencies typical of this region. A special collection from this exhibition was assembled for presenting in Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre in February, 2015. It will give an insight about art processes where artists draw their inspiration in Kurzeme.

YURI DOJC “LAST FOLIO”

YURI DOJC LAST FOLIO   No foreign sky protected me, no stranger´s wing shielded my face. I stand as witness to the common lot, survivor of that time, that place. Anna Akhmatova / Requiem 1935 ‐ 1940 Yuri Dojc about his exhibition: In January 1997, at the funeral of my father I met a remarkable woman, Mrs Vajnorska. She was one of the thousand or so girls, who in early 1942 boarded the very first train to Auschwitz. She spent three years there, lost her entire family except for her brother. She told me of her daily home visits to others who survived like she did. I asked her if I could accompany her on her daily rounds. She agreed. And so I began photographing these people and the world they live in. 30 L A S T  F O L I O  Y U R I  D O J C August 1968, Soviet tanks occupy Czechoslovakia and Yuri’s status of a summer student in London changes overnight to one of a refugee. A year later he lands in Toronto where he still lives. Four decades later Yuri Dojc is a major figure on the global photographic scene. He has earned considerable recognition for both his commercial and artistic ouvre. His work ranging from portraits of Canadian War veterans to cityscapes is exhibited and published regularly. His recent work in Rwanda has appeared in the French daily Liberation under the dramatic headline of “Landscape of Genocide”.

Aleksandra Šļahova “Transitions”

Aleksandra Šļahova "Transitions" Artist and art teacher Aleksandra Šļahova (1948)  is a personality, who with her works, her attention, clarity and brightness speaks to everyone, inviting for conversation and common work. With strength and sensitivity nursed works that are created in watercolor, enclose decorative, stylized and zoomed nature subjects, form and phenomenon study. In watercolors dominate characteristic to Alexandra color purity, their contrast and harmony that are cherished scrupulously and successively from an idea to the result in material.  The author captures simple things in the nature and life in general, seeing and transforming the most valuable edges,  and reflects the perceived shape for our view in a special zoom. A number of works have been created in a stylistic mood, expressing her personal attitude and feelings, focusing on what is happening that can be felt in every part of the watercolor layers, forming the composition story. Each work has special and imperceptible at first sight, the philosophy of work and its psychological character. Watercolors are bright, symbolic and at the same time laconic magnets that attract all of us and every individual, hearing, seeing the depth of work and uniqueness.

Riho Toomra “From Thread to Art”

Riho Toomra (Estonia) “From Thread to Art” At the beginning of the last century German lace knitting was taking a new direction. Rather than repetitions of motifs based on Tyrolean and Bavarian folk traditions, fashion dictated more complicated patterns. This technique was further developed culminating in state-of-the-art creations by a man who was later known as the Great Master of Lace Herbert Richard Niebling (20.12.1903-15.05.1966). He learned to knit at an early age and devoted his whole life to this amazing technique, developing it and striving for perfection. While the traditional motifs were knitted from memory, the complicated new patterns needed to be written down. The systems of the signs developed and by the 30s Niebling had created a simple and universal set of symbols. So the patterns were widely disseminated in magazines and hobby knitters started to copy the designs. After surviving WW II, he proceeded to create knitted patterns, finding inspiration from the form and structure of the flowers in his garden and also the unusual plants that he collected on his travels. The laces knitted by him are gone with the wind, but hundreds of his fantastic patterns with their filigrane beauty keep amazing people even today.  Exhibition of Estonian artist Riho Tomra in the Rothko Centre is dedicated to 111th anniversary of the Great Master.

“LITHUANIA ART SPACE”

  "LITHUANIA ART SPACE" Art is directly linked with space which embraces it and which submits itself to art works and processes. Quite frequently invisible, it creates the general image of a small street, block, and town or even of the whole country. Art cannot be viewed separately – it interweaves architecture, design and other spheres, which together form the world embracing us. Art is simultaneously both a witness to history and its creator – being directly or indirectly linked with political and social processes of everyday life, it can act not only as an objective detached observer, but is able also to make an impact on everyday processes, because any manifestation of an individual creativity emerges from artist’s own personality, and this makes a direct impact on the identity of culture and the space that belongs or has been lent to it. Just like in other Eastern Europe and Post-Soviet countries, in Lithuania, too, the development of culture is related to global political and economic processes. Moreover, the geographical location of Lithuania has always been a contributory factor to the influence of various great powers and cultures on its territory – Lithuanian national art has been forming and developing under these conditions. The identity of the new state, as well as its cultural, social, economic and political life, began to develop after World War I in the then capital Kaunas. The 30s of the 20th century were the period of renaissance in Lithuanian art, and related to the spread of avant-garde art in Europe, to which the Lithuanians, in their turn, managed to impart a specific link with the traditional folk art, which is preserved strong up to the present time.

The first International Textile Art Symposium “Fortress Walls”

  “Fortress Walls” is the first International Textile Art Symposium held in Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre. Artists, participating in the Symposium, were asked to create unique textile art miniatures, drawing their inspiration from the architecture of the Daugavpils fortress, from its atmosphere and relief. The specific fortress atmosphere creates the world of colors and a unique atmosphere on the banks of the river Daugava, besides, miniature as the genre of art is an entirely complicated task. It requires from the artist considerable skills: in a very limited space, to balance and combine both the conception conceived by the author and the use of the techniques imposed by the materials. At creating their works, artists used various textile and fiber materials: from the traditional materials to different synthetic and natural ones. Nine artists participated in the Textile Art Symposium “Fortress Walls”: Raija Jokinen (Finland), Liudmila Vasileva (Russia), Helen Saether (Norway), Ane Vik Eines (Norway), Peteris Sidars (Latvia), Kristine Sile (Latvia), Iveta Laure (Latvia), Andra Kurzemniece (Latvia), Jolanta Savvina (Latvia).

Vaidotas Janulis “ARCHIVES OF MEMORY”

Vaidotas Janulis "ARCHIVES OF MEMORY"   Memory is neither the depository of information about forms of things, nor the accumulation of fixed views in our consciousness. It is the form of collecting, fixing and saving information. In the contemporary society, the boundaries between different art disciplines are merging, and at the same time the genre forms and ways to express the new concepts are insufficient.  New tools and technologies enable us to make the process of creation faster and also encourage seeking for new art spaces and taking a fresh look at different phenomena. Artists try out literature, prose, mix various forms of art. It seems that the old well-established art forms are bound to change, and they do it; they vanish, renew and integrate. The creative field for emerging of conceptual art forms is formed. Objects, installations absorb all forms of art: sound, calligraphy and others; even the smell is used to emphasize the importance of the idea. Honeycombs used in the objects are united by the element of wax – a coat rack, which expands the creation space. Honeycomb is a brilliant example of gathering and saving information. Man has invented analogue photography, daguerreotype, digital photography, which all are the means for fixing and maintaining the image. Pixel produces the image in digital technology, so it also gathers and stores the information. Therefore the analogy between these forms of collecting and retaining information can be drawn.

Anita Nikulceva “Four Seasons”

Anita Nikulceva "Four Seasons"   Anita Nikulceva has studied interior design at Riga College of Architecture and Design, has obtained bachelor’s degree in computer design and master’s degree in art at Daugavpils University. The artist regularly participates in exhibitions organized in Latvia and abroad. In her graphic works, using minimal means of expression, mainly color and form, Anita tries to depict the different levels of understanding things, processes and phenomena. The cycle FOUR SEASONS includes twelve graphic works, each work representing one month of a year. They show how observing the continuous processes in nature man comprehends the secrets of nature. The source of inspiration for these works was Japanese haiku carrying a strong philosophical message, which also form the system of images of every work, as well as provide compositional and color solution.

“Boriss Bērziņš”

  Boriss Bērziņš – one of the most outstanding representatives in the cultural space of the second half of the 20th century. The artist was born on October 7, 1930, Riga. From 1947 to 1952, he studied at Riga Janis Rozentāls Art Secondary School, from 1952 to 1959 - at Latvian State Art Academy, which he graduated with a diploma work “Plostnieki” [Raftsmen], done under the supervision of Eduards Kalniņš. From 1955 he participated in exhibitions, from 1961 he was a member of Latvian Artists Association. Bērziņš began working at the Art Academy of Latvia already in 1963; first – as a lecturer at evening training courses, later – at the Department of Painting. When Eduards Kalniņš died in 1988, he took over and led the Painting Studio of the USSR Art Academy in Riga, and always followed his students’ career in art. His studio had always been open to creative conversations on art, even in the time when health problems prevented him from participating in the events. Apart from holding the post of professor at the Art Academy, he had received significant awards and titles both in Latvia and abroad. In his life, a very significant event occurred in 1979 when he received the 2nd prize at the Cleveland 4th International Drawing Biennial held in Middlesbrough, England, but in 1983 he was given the 3rd prize at the 6th biennial organized at the same place. In 1994, Bērziņš was elected the honorary member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, in 1995 he was awarded the Order of Three Stars. Since 1997 Bērziņš was a life grant holder, given to him by the State Cultural Capital Foundation. In 2000, for his life-long contribution to art he received Spīdola prize of the State Culture Foundation.

INTERNATIONAL RESIDENCE III LATGALE GRAPHIC ART SYMPOSIUM

  INTERNATIONAL RESIDENCE III LATGALE GRAPHIC ART SYMPOSIUM OCTOBER 7-14, 2014, DAUGAVPILS APOTHECARY NOTES Latgale Graphic Art Symposium is like meeting, discussion and creative work in the space of culture in Latgale, which brought together similarly and differently thinking and working graphic artists and artists of other media from Latvia and foreign countries, whose expression of art is graphics. Apothecary notes is a common theme for the final exhibition by the end of III Latgale Graphic Art Symposium. As Jacob Rothkowitz, father to Mark Rothko – an outstanding founder of abstract expressionism,   was apothecary in Dvinsk, so it is natural that the theme of pharmacy and apothecary is perused in graphic art Residence of this year, developing direct connection between inheritance of traditions and sustainability. Residents of 2014 from five countries – Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Serbia – had an opportunity to fill and to sense surroundings and events, dynamics and variability in the frame of centuries in Daugavpils by turning to interpretation of life, feelings, mood and meaning of apothecary in the form of “notes”.