Opening of Mark Rothko’s anniversary exhibition season
In anticipation of Mark Rothko’s 116th birthday, at 4 p.m. on 20 September a new exhibition season, conceived as a tribute to painting, will be opened at Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre.
The autumn exhibition season can likewise be called the Rothko season. Autumn is a time of colour and plentiful harvest, and also a time of Mark Rothko’s birthday. The paintings Mark Rothko created at different periods of his life are as colourful, rich and plentiful as the season of his birth, and much the same can be said about the work of the artists whose paintings will be on display at the Rothko Centre throughout September and October in six new exhibition projects.
The exhibition season is an ode to painting, jubilant and festive, a song of praise for everything the featured artists have achieved in their lifetime – their pursuits and accomplishments, experiences and memories, dreams and creations, everything that deserves to be continued and discussed.
The anniversary exhibition project “Lifetime” by Osvalds Zvejsalnieks resembles an autumnal carpet of leaves – multi-coloured, vibrant and wise. It looks back at his many accomplishments and sketches out some targets for the future. Every work in the exhibition radiates the artist’s insight and spiritual wisdom, his simplicity and humanity – all his actual attributes. Right next to him is the bright but grounded exhibition by Erdmute Blach (Germany), “Compositions. Answers to Darkness”. In her anniversary exhibition painter Anita Meldere, one of the founders of Latvian expressionist painting, offers her latest creations, thereby looking forwards rather than back. The paintings are as expressive as the artist who created them, a quality she boldly emphasises rather than seeks to deny, especially in this exhibition project.
Is it music or poetry? No, it is colour, it is substance and it is an endless response. We are responsible for our actions; we want to be responsible for what has happened or what is happening in a given moment. We are accompanied by memories that anchor our experiences and individual perceptions of present-day life. Diverse experiences and memories are the subject of the Lithuanian art project, “X: Memory.”
A special addition to this autumn’s exhibition season comes from painter and philanthropist, Basil Alkazzi (Monaco), who presents his project, “An Ongoing Odyssey…”. Its source is the artist’s playful enjoyment of life, its compositions inspired by literature and plant life. Cast paper gives his paintings an extra touch of uniqueness.
DaDim Art Group from Russia debates the rhythms and tides of life in their exhibition “Grains of Sand and Void”. It draws parallels with the cultural heritage of different people’s and contemplates the meaning of life, also seeing connections with Mark Rothko.
Mark Rothko has inspired and continues to inspire countless artists. To them, he is something of spiritual mentor through his painterly legacy and myriad insights quoted in literature and painting. Undeniably, Mark Rothko is a global frontrunner of abstract expressionism.
The new exhibition season is on display until 3 November 2019.
On 20 September, during the season’s grand opening, visitors can see the newly opened exhibitions free of charge, at other times – at standard entrance fees.
On 25 September, by way of celebrating Mark Rothko’s birthday, the Rothko Centre and the newly opened exhibitions are available throughout the day at discount prices.
Additional information and exhibition details: https://www.rothkocenter.com/en/exhibitions
Supporters: Daugavpils City Council, State Culture Capital Foundation, Caparol, Valmiermuiža Devona
