Exposition of paintings “KLUSĀ DABA” (“STILL LIFE”) from the museum of the Association of Latvian Artists

       From August 4 to September 15 of this year on business days from 10am-5pm in the exposition hall of Alūksne Art School is opened exposition of paintings “KLUSĀ DABA” (STILL LIFE) from the Museum of Association of Latvian Artists. During Alūksne Town Festivity on Saturday, August 5 the exhibition is going to be opened at 10:00-17:00 and on Sunday, August 6 at 10:00-14:00. Entrance fee for adults EUR 1.00, for students and seniors EUR 0.50.
     For the exposition of the Museum of the Association of Latvian Artists (LMS Museum) was chosen one genre – still life revealing development of artistic means from the end of 1950-ties to the end of 1980-ties. In the exhibition you can see still life works of great masters: Imants Vecozols, Jūlijs Viļumainis, Indulis Zariņš, Biruta Baumane etc., also important authors describing the scene of age: Vilis Dvielis, Mihails Korņeckis, Aija Zariņa, Nikolajs Breikšs etc., and works of authors rarely seen in exhibitions: Ingrīda Kalna, Marina Ainbindere etc.
     We can find beginnings of still life painting in the 17th century in Holland when new demands and new art expression appeared – paintings where their authors were trying to achieve the most characteristic image of very diverse items: splendid bunches of flowers, glass and silver vessels, hangings with a plate with bilberry cake or ham on them and almost mandatory there was a lemon. The development of the genre can also be seen in vanits where worldliness of worldly things were expressed by different symbols: skulls, sand clocks and candles reminding us of “Memento mori!”.
       In the Latvian art the genre of still life has appeared quite lately – during 20ties of the 20th century when picturing of objects was based on realistic understanding of the life, studying paintings of old masters as well as in stylization typical to the modern age.
In the paintings of this exposition coming from the collection of LMS Museum was accented active wish of artists to express themselves in still life genre from 1960ties to the end of 1980ties when had broad collection of LMS was established.
       After the World War 2 when in our art were actualized socialism workers, their heroic past and their bright future, the still life genre got “softened”. “Simple” items picturing was too small for soviet ideology to show importance of new life and artists got reproaches for their formalisms. During that period the meaning of formalism was conclusion that the most important thing in their works was form, but their content was diminished. Therefore these works were rarely exposed in the exhibitions. New period in the genre of still life emerged in 1970ties when professional interests of artists, their artistic searches and their success in composition, composed colours and character of dashes, especially of course in painting were revealed through such portrayal of objects.
        Content of the exhibition emphasized that still life of Latvian pictorial art is more self expression through expression typical to its age. During creation of still life any artist is alone, his thoughts are mostly wandering towards his expression of his artistic capabilities and exactly in this genre artists have expressed themselves most willingly, most often and most creative.
Text: art scientist Baiba Guste
Author of the exhibition idea: sculptor Igors Dobičins, president of society “Latvijas Mākslinieku savienība” (Association of Latvian artists).