Mark Rothko Symposium 2022 to conclude with an exhibition opening

2022 09 16 — 2022 10 16 at Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre
Author Echo Gone Wrong
Published in Events in Latvia

At 4 p.m. on Friday, 16 September, the Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre will open the 18th International Mark Rothko Painting Symposium 2022 exhibition and host a meeting with the authors.

Eighteen and counting – that’s how many times Daugavpils has brought together artists from across the planet into a shared time-space to give free rein to their creativity and, possibly, change the world for the better, at least a little, because every bit counts.

This is the tenth time the International Mark Rothko Painting Symposium has been held at the Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre, making it an anniversary occasion.

Artistic expression inspired by abstract expressionism has a lot in common with freedom of speech – you can like a statement or hate it; it can spark discussion or disagreement, but what matters most is the very option of making it. This possibility of expression has always stood at the cornerstone of development for the arts and humanity at large.

The exhibition demonstrates the creative statements of ten artists who spent a fortnight behind the Daugavpils Fortress walls, engaged in stimulating discussions and absorbed in intense creative practice. The upshot of this is an exceptionally diverse body of paintings and masses of creative energy that have the potential to keep changing the world for the better, however slightly, for every little bit helps.

The exhibition features artists Siddharth Pathak (India/The Netherlands), Biljana Milenkovic (Serbia), Lihi Turjeman (Israel), Amit Kalla (India), Agata Żychlińska (Poland), Agata Magdalena Sulikowska (Poland), André Rigatti (Brasil), Mika Vesalahti (Finland), Aleksejs Naumovs (Latvia) and Bence Kala (Hungary).

The closing exhibition of the Mark Rothko 2022 International Painting Symposium will open together with the installation project DRYGVA. BREATHE IN – BREATHE OUT by Maria Gvardeitseva. The latter will be on show in the art tent of the Rothko Centre courtyard.

The Mark Rothko 2022 symposium exhibition will be on show through 16 October 2022.

Supporters: Daugavpils City Council, State Culture Capital Foundation, Caparol, US Embassy in Latvia, Israeli Embassy in Latvia.