Solveiga Vasiļjeva’s environmental objects in Daugavpils
The courtyard of Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre has become an exhibition space for a steel sculpture by Solveiga Vasiļjeva “What did You Want to Say Me? Nothing.”, in due course to be followed by other objects.
What is this peculiar star-shaped object, landed right in the Rothko Centre courtyard – a sea urchin, a vagrant naval mine, a thistle caught in the cobblestone surface or a moment of the Big Bang, arrested for eternity in a steel construction? In this piece by Solveiga Vasiļjeva, repetitive elements line up, as though chasing a perfect formula, and merge into something more than the sum of its component parts. This is why the sculpture resonates with the environment and the viewer with such extraordinary force – depending on the place, time and environment, it triggers forever-new strings of universal associations that keep on changing along with the setting.
The title of the piece, “What did You Want to Say Me? Nothing.”, puts no pressure on the viewer regarding correct or incorrect perception. Instead, it reiterates the author’s firm belief that most things in existence remain unfathomable if we rely on nothing more but our habitual senses. Standard models of perception fail to reveal the hidden meaning of things, which puts this elusive essence in the focus of artistic curiosity.
Working with a range of materials such as stone, wood, photography and animal bodies, Solveiga Vasiļjeva continuously returns to steel constructions. Unsurprisingly, she has chosen this alloy for one more sculptural unit to enhance the environment around the emergent Martinsons House right next to the Rothko Centre in the upcoming summer. Right now, the new environmental object “Meteorite” is still being made in the artist’s studio. It is based on several sketches of the world-renowned ceramicist Pēteris Martinsons (1931–2013) that will be transformed into a 4 to 5-metre high three-dimensional object. As a symbolic data-carrier from outer space, the Meteorite will contain essential information about Pēteris Martinsons and his art.
The piece “What did You Want to Say Me? Nothing.” by Solveiga Vasiļjeva will remain on display at the Rothko Centre courtyard until the end of August. Environmental object “Meteorite” will be unveiled in mid-summer near the emergent Martinsons House as a permanent addition to the cultural landscape of Daugavpils.
