Izstāde “Es un Līvija” mākslas telpā “Studija”

On June 19, the exhibition “Es un Līvija” will be opened in the art space “Studija”, dedicated to the centenary of the honorary citizen of Kuldīga, sculptor Līvija Rezevska (1926–2004). The exhibition creates an encounter between Rezevska's left-behind creative heritage and the works of contemporary female artists, addressing women's experiences, worldview, dreams, doubts, and challenges. The exhibition will be on view until September 30, while in August and September it will be complemented by a public program that will expand the conversation initiated in the exhibition about art, memory, and cultural heritage.

Līvija Rezevska is one of the most prominent Latvian sculptors, in whose oeuvre, alongside monumental sculptures, finely and emotionally saturated small-scale plastic works occupy a significant place. In the urban environment of Kuldīga, her presence is particularly felt in the Castle Park, where there are 22 sculptures created specifically for this site and have become an inseparable part of the city landscape. Celebrating the artist's centenary, the art space “Studija” invites a look at Rezevska's heritage from a contemporary viewpoint. Alongside the artist's own works, the exhibition will also display creations by contemporary Latvian and foreign female artists, which respond in various ways to Rezevska's creative output and actualize issues of art, memory, and identity. Participating in the exhibition are Kristīne Mifsuda (Kristine Mifsud, Canada/Latvia), Dārta Sidere (Latvia/France), Inga Meldere (Latvia/Finland), Liene Pavlovska (Latvia), Paula Buškevica (Latvia), Ingvilda Melberga Eikelenda (Ingvild Melberg Eikeland, Norway), and Liene Rumpe (Latvia). Within the framework of the public program, it will be possible to listen to lectures and participate in creative workshops together with Weronika Trojańska (Poland), Ilga Leimanis (Latvia), and Ieva Zībārte (Latvia).

The exhibition and public program “Es un Līvija” prompt reflection on the place past cultural heritage holds in modern society. How do we look at the art of the Soviet period today? How do we see its place and role in the urban environment? And how to talk about it with the younger generation? These questions gain special topicality at a time when Kuldīga plans to implement the reconstruction of the 1905 Park, within the framework of which it is planned to dismantle two monuments created by Līvija Rezevska – to those who fell in 1905 and the victims of the 1919 terror. In this context, the exhibition will become a platform for a conversation on the preservation of cultural heritage, its interpretation, and the significance of change, while simultaneously addressing the actualization of the stories and values of women-artists.

The exhibition is conceived as a living organism that will transform over time, and alongside the works of Kristīne Mifsuda, Dārta Sidere, Liene Rumpe, and Inga Meldere, during the summer the work of artists-in-residence at “Studija” at that time – Ingvilda Melberga Eikelenda and Ilga Leimanis – as well as Liene Pavlovska, will gradually be exhibited. The opening of the exhibition will take place on June 19 from 17.00–19.00, and it will be on view until September 30, every Friday and Saturday from 12.00–18.00. We invite you to follow information about the upcoming public program on “Studija's” social networks during July.

Curator: Maija Rudovska

Graphic design: Paula Buškevica

Exhibition setup: RJ Projects

Admission: free of charge