With this exhibition, the art centre inaugurates a new exhibition concept in which the Small Exhibition Hall is used as an independent art space. This white cube lets visitors take a more in-depth look at a particular artist’s oeuvre.
The exhibition will present 30 works from the Zuzāns Collection, which were created from 1936 up to 1990, and provide an insight in different periods of Rūdolfs Pinnis’ creative career. The exhibition is curated by Dace Lamberga and designed by Reinis Liepiņš and the architecture studio Silver Architecture specialises in the restoration and reconstruction of buildings.
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Through his ambitious use of colour, the Rūdolfs Pinnis’s form of expression was enveloped in emotional mystery generated by the word – Paris, since in the 1930s he was a one-hundred percent Parisian.
From 1919 to 1920, Rūdolfs Pinnis attended the atelier of painter Valdemārs Tone and in 1922 entered the Art Academy of Latvia, where he studied for only one semester. The young man’s wanderings began in 1927, while visiting his brother in Istanbul, and took him to his long-longed-for Paris in 1929. For ten years he breathed the air of the city of his dreams, attended Académie de la Grande Chaumière, an art school, and took part in exhibitions while spending his evenings in the cafés of Montparnasse.
The tumultuous development of Pinnis’ career began in a dense artistic milieu in the melting pot of world culture, while in post-war Latvia his free thinking painting that did not conform to the dogmas of socialist realism was constantly reproached for “parasitic formalism” by Soviet propagandists. Yet Pinnis tirelessly fought for his truth, which he convincingly demonstrated through his painting.
The Zuzāns Collection exhibition, titled I Exist in Colours, presents the master’s daringly diverse endeavours over the period of more than 50 years. His landscapes of the 1960s were dominated by a laconic representation of natural forms and resonant colour schemes, heightened all the way to harsh dissonance. The master’s strength can be found in the contrasts of unusual combinations and lush brushstrokes, creating peculiar “colour duels”. The artist borrowed his daring palette from nature, but was never drawn to the traditional understanding of colour, its illustrative narrative character.
In 1972, an opportunity arose for Rūdolfs Pinnis to visit the city of his youth, Paris, and, starting from 1973, his painting became more imaginatively complex and agitated; with impulses also coming from his inner experiences and the wisdom accumulated over a lifetime.
Not to mention, Neputns Publishers will shortly release already the twenty-seventh title in the series Classics of Latvian Art – Rūdolfs Pinnis, with text written by Dace Lamberga. The publication will also be on sale at the Zuzeum Bookshop.
Till Apr 28, 2024
