The renown Latvian photographer Ivars Gravlejs’s exhibition “Shopping Poetry” is on view at the art gallery careva contemporary from 9 November until 15 December, 2018. Ivars Gravlejs is one of the best known Latvian photographers of his generation, often working with the aesthetic of everyday objects in an ironic way.
“Shopping Poetry” is an ongoing series that Gravlejs started in 2012 in German town of Schoppingen, and continues to make to this day. In the process of making the artworks Gravlejs quite literally goes shopping and then, at the cash till, arranges his objects of desire in such a manner, that afterwards the receipt can be read as a poem. The artworks on show are all unique pieces, exhibited for the first time. Continuing the playful nature of Gravlejs oeuvre, careva contemporary assigns a price to each artwork that is 100 times that of the each particular receipt. In such a way winking at the often artbitral price creation in contemporary art market.
Alise Careva, founder of the art gallery careva contemporary: “In our opinion, the artworks from these series comment on the poetics of the quotidien, while reflecting the temporal quality of photography as a medium. The objects that are portrayed themselves are products of a particular time and society. Moreover, when juxtaposing them with the receipts that might fade with the passage of time, one can observe not just the fun side of the text (that does have a dadaist poetic quality), but also a kind of “momento mori” quality of traditional nature-morte. As well, these artworks tell us about the intimate nature of shopping as a process, turning the content of a shopping basket into a portrait.”
About Ivars Gravlejs
Ivars Gravlejs (b.1979) currently lives and works in Prague, Czech Republic. He studied photography in FAMU (Prague) and since then has amongst other things been working as a lecturer of photography in several educational institutions internationally. Having had more than 40 solo exhibitions worldwide, he is known for his social critique and ironic viewpoint, which are usually portrayed in his provocative multimedia artworks. More information can be found on the artist’s webpage: http:// www.ivarsgravlejs.com/
About careva contemporary
careva contemporary (established in 2017) is a contemporary art gallery based in Riga, Latvia and represents mid-career and emerging artists from Northern and Eastern Europe. careva contemporary promotes contemporary art by organising artist solo exhibitions in the permanent gallery space in Riga, as well as represents them abroad by partaking in international art fairs. More information available on the gallery’s webpage: https://www.carevacontemporary.com/.
Photography: careva contemporary
careva contemporary
Baznīcas 9/11, Rīga, LV – 1010
www.carevacontemporary.com