Selected Artists Announced for the 22nd International Painting Symposium “Mark Rothko 2026”
The Rothko Museum has selected the artists for the 22nd International Painting Symposium “Mark Rothko 2026”, taking place in Daugavpils from 18 September to 3 October 2026.
This year, interest in the symposium reached an all-time high, with 290 applications submitted from more than 45 countries.
After reviewing the submitted portfolios and proposals, the museum’s expert committee selected ten artists whose work reflects the symposium’s focus on dialogue between contemporary painting and the legacy of Mark Rothko.
The 22nd International Painting Symposium “Mark Rothko 2026” will bring together ten artists from eight countries:
Nicole Mueller (USA) explores the influence of memory, the subconscious, and the environment on the formation of identity. Through vibrant colour relationships, intuitive gestures and layered compositions, she creates abstract “innerscapes” where personal experience, emotion and continual transformation converge.
Gustavs Filipsons (Latvia) explores the inner world of human experience and intuitive creative processes through painting. Working with multiple layers of colour and form, he allows the image to emerge gradually, balancing spontaneity, experimentation and conscious artistic expression.
André Hemer (New Zealand/Austria) combines traditional painting with digital modes of perception, exploring relationships between landscape, place and identity. In his multilayered works, the physical environment becomes an active participant in the creative process, while painting serves as a record of a specific time and place.
Weronika Hempel (Poland) uses the garden as a metaphor for life, where natural, emotional and spiritual processes intertwine. In her paintings, the fragility and resilience of flowers become symbols of the continuous transformations that shape both human experience and nature.
Mice Jankulovski (North Macedonia) explores the relationships between form, space and light through minimalist compositions dominated by black. His works invite contemplation and meditation, revealing the interplay between universal order and diversity.
Rosa Juanco (Spain) is dedicated to the pure language of painting, creating multilayered compositions in which nuanced shades of blue play a central role. Her work explores traces and imprints that spark the imagination and invite viewers to construct their own narratives.
Vilen Künnapu (Estonia) is one of the most distinctive architects and artists of his generation, whose practice spans architecture, painting, drawing and literature. His work brings together spatial thinking, personal mythology and reflections on the role of the artist in cultural history.
Henry Mandell (USA) combines experimental artistic methods with observations of natural processes and scientific thought. Transforming texts, words and systems of information into abstract patterns, he creates visually intricate compositions in which the familiar gradually becomes unknown.
Peter Maslow (USA) explores space, memory and the experience of the urban environment, transforming observation into abstract visual structures. His paintings invite viewers to mentally navigate constructed spaces, discovering connections between what is seen, imagined and remembered.
Emma Velde-Schaffer (New Zealand) creates layered abstract compositions in which colour, texture and the motif of the circle become vehicles for emotional and meditative experience. Her work brings together personal reflection, intuition and an interest in continual transformation.
During the two-week symposium, the artists will work in the Rothko Museum’s studios, create new artworks, engage with fellow participants and explore Daugavpils – Mark Rothko’s birthplace.
The symposium will conclude with an exhibition of newly created works at the Rothko Museum, opening on 2 October 2026. Following the exhibition, selected artworks will enter the Rothko Museum Collection, further strengthening its holdings of contemporary painting.
The symposium is supported by the Daugavpils City Council, State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia and Cultural Programme for Latgale 2026.
Image credits:
- Symposium’s visual identity
- Nicole Mueller, Loopback, acrylic on canvas, 152.4 × 243.8 cm, 2024
- Gustavs Filipsons, Breathing Earth, oil on canvas, 100 x 100 cm, 2020
- André Hemer, Sunrise of Fog and Dreams #, acrylic and pigment on canvas, 180 x 130 cm, 2024
- Weronika Hempel, Floras 010126, oil on canvas, 200 x 200 cm, 2026
- Mice Jankulovski, Down Line, acrylic on canvas, 195 x 195 cm, 2018
- Rosa Juanco, The blue is not blue XIX, 60 x 150 cm
- Vilen Künnapu, Sunset on Santorini, acrylic on canvas, 100 x 8 cm, 2015
- Henry Mandell, Noetic 196, uv polymer on aluminium, 2024
- Peter Maslow, Redemption Beneath the Expressway, oil on canvas, 196 x 224 cm, 2026
- Emma Velde-Schaffer, Prospecting, oil gold leaf and pigment on canvas, 150 x 130 cm
