Exhibition of Latvian exile and émigré artists 'Portable Landscapes' at the Latvian National Museum of Art

August 1, 2018
Author Echo Gone Wrong

Published in Photo / Video from Latvia

Viktors Timofejevs, Node, 2017-2018. Photo: Margarita Ogoļceva, 2018, Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art

Enno Hallek, Portable Sunset, 1990-2018; Portable White Landscape With Shadow, 2000-2010; Portable Compact String, 1994-2010; Symmetrical Landscape, 1990-2017; Oar, 1982-1992; Heaven Scraper, 1083; Open String, 1994-2010.

The Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art opened an exhibition „Portable Landscapes”, dedicated to the centennial of the Republic of Latvia, at the Latvian National Museum of Art.

It follows yarns, which, through various corners of the world, take us to the stories of several creative, often relatively unknown Latvian émigré and exile personalities and informal groups, placing them in a broader context of art events, migration and globalization and revealing them as a polyphonic landscape.

“If we take a longer look back, people’s migrations caused by wars or political and economic change have taken place ceaselessly. Exile, diaspora and migration are characteristic elements of global culture and their manifestations have not only determined changes in the world’s map but also contributed to the basis for the development of various trends in art and culture, promoting the blending and overlapping of cultures and the birth of new ideas and movements,” believe the curators of the exhibition Solvita Krese, Inga Lāce, Diāna Popova, Antra Priede-Krievkalne, and Andra Silapētere.

In addition to historical stories, which are revealed with the help of archives, works of art and artefacts, the exhibition has welcomed contemporary Latvian artists who live and work abroad, as well as artists who have addressed the theme of migration or, with their interpretations, are adding to some of the narratives developed in it.

Portable Landscapes explores Paris, New York, West Berlin, Gotland and Montreal as places relevant to the Latvian diaspora, tracing the individual routes of migration and developing a way of looking at the current situation, which, to a great extent, is based in historical events.

Participating artists: Valdis Āboliņš, Ieva Balode, Aia Bertrand, Eugenijus Budrys, Daina Dagnija, Raymond Duncan, Ieva Epnere, Inga Erdmane, Barbara Gaile, Daiga Grantiņa, Enno Hallek, Mikko Hintz & Inga Meldere, David Holmert, Marija Induse-Muceniece, Ingela Johansson, Rolands Kaņeps, Ernests Kļaviņš, Leonards Laganovskis, Marcos Lutyens, Kristina Norman, Mai-Thu Perret, Karol Radziszewski, Bita Razavi, Elske Rosenfeld, Andrejs Strokins, Laris Strunke, Niklāvs Strunke, Sergejs Timofejevs (Orbīta) & Ilva Kļaviņa, Viktors Timofejevs, Žanis Valdheims, Sigurds Vīdzirkste, Artūrs Virtmanis, Margo Zālīte, Aleksandrs Zapoļs & Vladimirs Svetlovs (Orbīta).

Supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, State Cultural Capital Fund, British Council Latvia, Frame Contemporary Art Finland, Rīgas Dome, Filips Kļaviņš, “Pro Helvetia”, Embassy of Canada to Latvia, The United States Embassy in Latvia, Baltic Art Center, Iaspis Swedish Arts Grants Committee’s international programme for Visual and Applied Artists, The Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Latvia, Nordic Culture Point – Nordisk Kulturkontakt, Goethe-Institut Riga, “3M™ Scotchlite™ Reflective Material and Brilliant Reflective”, Estonian Embassy in Latvia, Embassy of Sweden Riga, Embassy of Finland, “Festivāls Sansusī”, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, “VKN”, “Valmiermuiža”, Z/S “Smilškalni”, SIA “Dunker”

Photography: Margarita Ogoļceva, 2018, Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art