Pavilion of The Republic of Latvia

at The 54th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia

Kristaps Ģelzis:

Artificial Peace

(Contemporary Landscape)

Cannaregio 4118, Palazzo Albrizzi
4 June–27 November 2011

Professional Preview:
1–3 June 2011

Inauguration:
2 June 2011

astrida@indie.lv; paiviproarte@ymail.com

www.biennale.lv

Artist: Kristaps Ģelzis
Commissioner: Daiga Rudzāte

The exhibition entitled "ARTIFICIAL PEACE (Contemporary Landscape)" showcases artist Kristaps Ģelzis—one of the most unique and brilliant personalities in Latvian contemporary art.

EXHIBITION
The "Artificial Peace (Contemporary Landscape)" strides the borderline between monumental painting and conceptualism while belonging to both. The works are in watercolour technique, using luminescent water-based acrylic paints.

The interaction between colour, light, imagination, and emotion forms the underlying concept. The large format watercolour series "Contemporary Landscape" is the core of the exhibit. Reflecting the most striking daily transitions, these paintings tell the story of a very personal relationship to the world. The huge pulsating fields of colour represent a distillate of the artist's emotions whose further evolution is up to the viewer. The silhouettes of the visitors become part of the artwork: interactive images provoke the interpretation of the narrative. In the context of "Artificial Peace" light plays a particular role: the fluorescent bulbs, the so-called "blue lights" help the gaze to penetrate the deepest layers of the painting. Light becomes a kind of emotional binding substance between the visitor and the artwork, throwing the formal qualities of the painting in high relief and revealing the endless depth of the painted space.

ARTIST
KRISTAPS ĢELZIS was born in 1962 in Rīga. He completed studies at the Department of Graphics of the Art Academy of Latvia (1986). Together with other conceptual art pioneers of his generation, he has been actively involved in Latvian contemporary art processes since the mid 1980s. Since 1997 he is Assistant Professor at the Department of Visual Communication and Graphics of the Art Academy of Latvia. The artist has participated in many significant international art projects. His works are represented in the collections of Helsinki KIASMA Contemporary Art Museum, the Latvian National Museum of Art and the Artists' Union of Latvia. The idea at the core of Kristaps Ģelzis's creative work is implemented in the most appropriate material—on planes, spatially or plastically, using all of the technology and media now available. He is sensitive to the symbolic elements of the local environment, which are then masterfully interpreted in his works, and has the courage to be openly ironic about the current political events.

COMMISSIONER
DAIGA RUDZĀTE (1968) has graduated from the Journalism Department of the University of Latvia. For many years a prolific art critic, she has worked as an editor of the magazine of visual arts "Studija". Rudzāte is one of the founders of the Indie Culture Project Agency and its creative director. Since 2007 she has been an independent exhibition curator and marketing, public relations, and advertising consultant for the national and international culture projects. She is the chief curator of the Cesis Arts Festival, the major summer contemporary art event in Latvia. She is one of the founders and executive directors of the Purvītis Prize—the main Latvian national award for contemporary visual arts.