The exhibition will be comprised of newly created works by established contemporary Latvian artists with international experience, as well as art by talented emerging artists. The artists taking part in the exhibition are Imants Lancmanis, Aigars Bikše, Barbara Gaile, Indriķis Ģelzis, Inta Ruka, Evita Vasiļjeva, Krišs Salmanis, Darja Meļņikova, Kaspars Podnieks, Māra Brīvere, Krista Dzudzilo and Reinis Dzudzilo, Ieva Kaula, Ernests Kļaviņš and Andrejs Kļaviņš, Maija Kurševa, Liene Mackus, Līga Marcinkeviča, Mārtiņš Ratniks, Ieva Rubeze, Zane Tuča, Vilnis Vītoliņš and Brigita Zelča – Aispure. Exhibition curator: Helēna Demakova.

The artists taking part in the exhibition
were invited to refer to individual elements of consciousness integral to their being, which are related to a yearning for peace, as well as to broader natural and social movements, which instil or destroy peace to a greater or lesser extent.

Exhibition specs

• Kaspars Podnieks, 5 frames … Read More »

Where are we? What is this space, which encompasses us? How does time pass around us and what is it? Do we realise the true proportions between ourselves and the world? Essentially, each of us is always in several spaces (places) and times simultaneously. It only seems to us that around us, everything is more or less homogenous, constant and linear.It turns that we live within coordinates in which it is quite amusing to talk about stability or predictability. In truth, it is an infinite labyrinth and network of time in which we seek the right path throughout our lives. An endless overlapping of reality and feelings, a mingling into something resembling a wavelike “soup”. In reality, one can even talk about a continual feeling of finding oneself on the “edge of the world”, something akin to a border zone … Read More »

Five Latvian photographers (Arnis Balčus, Reinis Hofmanis, Alnis Stakle, Iveta Vaivode and Ilze Vanaga) and five scholars (Sergei Kruk, Klāvs Sedlenieks, Kārlis Vērpe, Laine Kristberga and Ivars Austers) have co-created a unique interdisciplinary study of contemporary Latvian landscape. Since 2013, they have worked in pairs (scholar/photographer) to create five semantically linked series of photographs and five essays, approaching a specific topic through both the photographic narrative and text. The overarching theme of the book is landscape, which is construed as a surface for contemplative viewing, a stage for a quaint or ordinary event and, beyond any doubt, a catalyst for an individual’s becoming who they are only when embraced by a particular landscape.

The particular exhibition in the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design carries on the Amber Road in Riga exhibition series, envisaged by the European Culture Capital 2014 programme. These exhibitions expose a different vision and comprehension of the origin and history of amber, traditions of its usage and application.

The aim of the exhibition is to research amber as one of the symbols of identity for Latvians and to show manifestations of it from the beginning of the 20th century until today, in a new light. The exposition uncovers the concept of amber in many aspects – amber as an art object, as a design element, as a brand name, as a place name, as a personal name phenomenon, as a souvenir, as the inspirer of literary texts and so on.

Our dear friend and photographer Māris Maskalāns in photo series called … Read More »

The exhibition of works by Mary Ellen Mark (1940, USA) presents a classic documentary photography tradition in which photojournalism and subjective documentary align to and overlap each other. Her best-known series focus on socially vulnerable groups of people.

In terms of plots and themes, Mark’s works hint at the socio-critical perspective of her idol, William Eugene Smith. Formally, the works follow in the footsteps of Henri Cartier-Bresson and the principles of his decisive moment, in which it is easy to spot traces of a traditional art education – Mark studied painting, art history and photojournalism at the University of Pennsylvania.

Professionally, she has been working as a photographer since the mid-1960s, and has been publishing books since 1974 about cultural differences, the homeless, the ill and other fate-stricken people. Mark has collaborated with New York Times Magazine, Life, Paris-Match, The New Yorker, … Read More »

French writer Maurice Blanchot once wrote: “Desire remains in relation to the distantness of the star, entreating the sky, appealing to the universe”. Referring to this Hirohisa Koike explains: “The title of this series “Desiderium” is desire in Latin, which refers to the star (Latin: siderium). Blanchot writes about this desire as “impossible” which remains as such. After studying photography for seven years including PhD, I noticed that ideas for images or strategies for images didn’t make sense to me anymore. Taking photographs should be meaningful. So I was focusing on my daily life and taking photos of its fragments. When I was in Latvia in 2013, I met a girl from Riga, and fell in love with her at the first glance. She had a boyfriend and it seemed impossible to develop the relationship anyway. My feelings for her … Read More »

ABLV Bank kolekcija topošajam Laikmetīgās mākslas muzejam.

Izstādes intereses centrā ir stāsti. Mākslas darbi kā stāsti, kolekcija kā stāsts par laikmetu, ko kolekcija pārstāv, izstāde kā stāsts par kolekciju un tās mākslas darbiem.

Izstādi veidos četras tematiskas daļas – cilvēks, ainava, sociums, sajūtas – universālas kategorijas, kas iezīmē pieturas punktus ABLV Bank kolekcijas izprašanā. Sadaļa Cilvēks iepazīstina ar darbiem, kas fokusējas uz indivīdu, izceļot to kā personību, laikmeta liecinieku, antropoloģiskas intereses objektu. Mākslas darbi, kas grupēti sadaļā Ainava, tiecas fiksēt vidi un faktūru, kas veido mūsu dzīves telpas specifiku, aptverot gan lauku, gan pilsētas, gan informācijas plūsmas un mediju radītās ainavas. Sociums iezīmē teritoriju, kurā norisinās procesi, kas saistīti ar sabiedrību, tās kolektīvo atmiņu, vēstures pārvērtēšanu, varas spēlēm, ideoloģiju sadursmēm, provokācijām un komentāriem. Sajūtas apkopo darbus, kuros mākslinieki mēģinājuši fiksēt domu, sajūtu, skaņu, teksta vibrācijas un nospiedumus, kas meklējami ārpus ikdienas valodas … Read More »