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| The Purvītis Prize as a brand, event and totalisator Šelda Puķīte, Art Critic The final exhibition of the nominees of the Purvītis Prize 2013 16.02.–14.04.2013. Latvian National Museum of Art exhibition hall Arsenāls | |
| In the world of Latvian visual art, February 2013 passed by under the influence of the Purvītis Prize. It is an event that over the last five years has turned the name of Vilhelms Purvītis (1872–1945), painter, educator, cultural worker and already a prominent figure of the Latvian art canon into one of the most highly visible brand names of Latvian art. The Purvītis Prize started out as a successful idea and an effective visual brand designed by Sarmīte Māliņa, featuring the now well-known sign with the letter P and reproductions of paintings by the old masters in the background. One more success story was the layout of the exhibition or the tasteful labyrinths of blocks (designer Martins Vizbulis) used for the first exhibition of the Purvītis Prize nominees in 2009. This year, however, the arrangement of the exhibition seems to have been less successful, with a particularly adverse effect on the display of works by Krišs Salmanis and Andris Breže. The Kandinsky Prize (Russia), Ars Fennica (Finland), Henkel Art Award (Austria), the Turner Prize (Great Britain) and the Köler Prize in our neighbouring country Estonia are just a few of the visual arts awards that existed before the Purvītis Prize. When asked which examples were followed for the format and structure of the prize, organizers unequivocally refer to the Turner Prize, awarded annually since 1984 and on occasion accompanied by scandal. The idea of creating an award that would be exclusively oriented to exhibitions and works of contemporary Latvian art was announced in 2008, at a time when a comprehensive all-encompassing prize in Latvian visual art did not exist. The idea came to fruition through the combined efforts of Jānis Zuzāns, the director of Ltd Alfor, the director of the Latvian National Art Museum, Māra Lāce, and representatives of the culture project agency Indie. The selection process of nominees for the Purvītis Prizes is complicated. The art experts appointed by the organizers have two years to evaluate and put forward works and exhibitions which, as stated in the description of the Purvītis Prize, represent “an outstanding work which is deemed to be deeply connected to the development of the era and forming a bridge between contemporary life, spiritual ideals and intrinsic values” (1). At the close of the second year the experts assess all the nominees and select eight candidates for the final, with the artists taking part in a combined exhibition (curator Daiga Rudzāte). This means that the process of researching the present and prophesying future values, or, as Artis Svece wrote for the first catalogue of the Purvītis Prize, the time of “informed guessing”(2) has been concluded. Until now, the panel of experts has comprised individuals connected with visual art, and their task is to attend as many exhibitions as possible, both in Riga and in the regions of Latvia and, if possible, also exhibitions by Latvian artists abroad. That is the ideal model, although its actual execution rests with each expert’s conscience. As concerns the jury for the final, the organizers, it seems, have tended to select international rather than local experts, and this trend, with just a few exceptions, seems to have been consistent. International experts are invited to be jury members so as to establish a network of contacts, and for possible cooperation and the promotion of Latvian contemporary art in the future. An important event this year, related not only to the prize but also to the Latvian art scene in general, is the appearance of a Latvian art anthology ‘Contemporary Art in Latvia, 2007–2012: The Purvītis Award’, published under the wing of arterritory.com. The anthology covers all the nominees and finalists of the Purvītis Prize for the last five years, that is, since the award was established. The book also provides information about all the artists whose names and exhibitions were considered in the Purvītis Prize experts’ meetings. The book, both in its format and contents, is reminiscent of the Taschen publication Art Now (a vast tome in several volumes, dominated by large and colourful reproductions of works), and is the only extensive and representative overview of Latvian contemporary art to date. It will be very interesting to return to this selection of art in ten or twenty years’ time. | |
 Andris Eglītis winner of the Purvītis Prize 2013 Publicity photos | |
| The final of this year’s Purvītis Prize has turned out to be a decidedly masculine affair, and if any traces of femininity have crept in, they are more likely to have insinuated themselves in the works of the exhibition here or there as an exquisite line or a contemplatively romantic mood. All the finalists this year are men, which creates a paradoxically amusing situation: even though the majority of the Art Academy graduates are female, it seems that men have been more active in exhibiting their work. Another paradox is the dominance of sculpture, even though just a few years ago this medium of the plastic arts had gone offstage from the Latvian contemporary art scene (assuming that installations are regarded as a separate medium) and was perceived as an art form that is traditional and outdated. Without even trying to recall the exhibitions of the last few years, but by simply viewing the works at the award exhibition it is evident that sculpture has become relevant once more and has become a means of expression also for the winner of the third Purvītis Prize, painter Andris Eglītis, who over the last two years has experimented with soft plastic materials as well as wood. Comparing the works that Eglītis exhibited at the first exhibition of the Purvītis Prize, his paintings and the sculptural composition presented this year, it would seem that we are looking at two different but equally talented artists. From the vast horizons of the firmament Eglītis has descended to the ground, so that with rolled-up sleeves he could dive into “earth works”(3). Ivars Drulle (born 1975), with the exhibition he was nominated for(4) represents the sculpture of miniatures (lately also Liene Mackus, Aigars Bikše, Olga Šilova and others have been working with small forms). The tiny, doll-like sculptures are set out on small stage sets. Adopting the role of witty jester, Drulle uses historical personalities and current celebrities, as well as the “tiny person”, to tell stories. The other sculptor who also reached the final, Gļebs Panteļejevs, stands out with his skill in using combinations of non-traditional materials in an unassuming and organic way, this imparting character and additional meaning to his works. At the same time, the exhibition OrNiTOLOĢIJA(5), in my opinion, did not seem polished enough to aspire to the main prize. The photographer Andrejs Grants (born 1955) is in the position of being a sort of outsider. He was nominated for the final with his retrospective exhibition Photographs 1980–2010( 6) held at the White Hall of the Latvian National Museum of Art. The exhibition was organized in a similar format to the artist’s photo album as compiled by the art historian Laima Slava.(7) Grants is one of the most prominent figures on the Latvian art photography scene and has definitely earned the highest accolades, however, this exhibition would have been a more appropriate contender for a life-time contribution to art prize rather than as an outstanding exhibition of contemporary art. In the case of Miķelis Fišers (born 1970) it is quite different. His exhibition Lielviela (‘Megamatter’)(8), which at the end of last year became a public favourite, was not a classical retrospective, but it did, however, present an overview of the artist’s creative output of the last few years, especially in painting. The dual approach of the exhibition, balancing between humanism, spirituality, faith and irony, made one think of two Fišers, neither being able to connect with the philosophical thinker nor the playful fraudster. The exhibition was like a sort of Fišerland, where a viewer could be so busy having fun that they could forget to think about the message that the artist had really wanted to convey. The unusual drawings by Harijs Brants (born 1970) surprise the viewer with their technical quality and their “upside down” perfection, as well as with the eerie and mysterious power of the images portrayed, which both frighten and magically captivate. The exhibition Portraits(9) revealed Brants’ formula of artistic expression which the artist has worked on for years, experimenting with the instruments of “high” and “low” art, drawing inspiration from the works of different masters, video animations, comics and lowbrow drawing styles. Under direct, powerful lighting the works in the exhibition took on an interesting, luminescent effect, though the nuances typical of charcoal technique were lost. Andris Breže (born 1958), a representative of the generation of “trespassers” or “border violators” provided the biggest surprise of the year 2012. As a sharp-eyed and patient observer, Breže had waited for an opportune moment to once more address the viewer with his characteristic indirectly symbolic language, dressed in unpretentiously monumental form. The installations of Miera dzīve (‘Life in Time of Peace’)(10) made from the relics of closed-down factories and constructs of lighting fixtures tell a rather poignant, but at the same time calm and beautiful story about the “thereafter”, represented by a square of light. After all, there are not many Latvian artists who are able to take signs, quotations, separate technical components and materials, and use them to speak about the times we live in with such ease and sensitivity. For Krišs Salmanis (born 1977)(11), another master of installations, this is the second time he has been selected for the final exhibition of the award. Just like Kristaps Ģelzis two years ago, he will be representing Latvia at the 55th Venice Biennale (together with Kaspars Podnieks). Salmanis is one of those Latvian artists who in his works (most often installations) combines intellectual games, experimentation and poetry. Not always do these constructions work, but Salmanis’ acute mind makes his conceptual and minimalistic works light and attractive. The Purvītis Prize has become an event which is attended by people who generally appreciate culture, even those who are not devotees of visual art on a regular basis. The interest shown in the list of candidates this year was especially great, several totalisators were even made available in social networks. Quite like race horses, the artists were put on the track of the racecourse and, at the sound of the starter pistol, they took off along the path of the totalisator calculators, not even being aware of the fact. Now the prize has been awarded and the event is over, but what remains is the work that has been invested in the research of the present and the promotion of the visual arts. Maybe there will come a day when the Purvītis Prize will reach other fields of art, too, publicly recognizing also curators, critics and researchers whose role on the visual art scene is just as important as that of the artists, and without whom, quite possibly, neither the many wonderful exhibitions and written texts nor the Purvītis Prize would exist. Translation into English: Vita Limanoviča (1) See.: www.purvisabalva.lv/lv/par-balvu. (2) The Purvītis Prize I. Catalogue. Riga: The Agency of Culture Projects “Indie”, 2009. (3) Andris Eglītis was nominated for his solo exhibition Zemes darbi (‘Earth Works’) at the Mūkusala Art Salon (2.09–8.10.2011.). (4) The exhibition Balstīts uz patiesiem notikumiem (‘Based on True Events’) was held at the Alma gallery (28.04–10.06.2011). (5) The exhibition was held at the White Hall of the LNMA (9.09–23.10.2011). (6) 01.04–22.05.2011. (7) The exhibition to a large degree represented the main topics of interest of the photographer (Impressions, Around Latvia and Colleagues, friends and acquaintances), which are the categories that Laima Slava had written about in the artist’s album ‘Andrejs Grants. Photographs.’, published by Neputns in 2002. (8) The exhibition was held at the Arsenāls exhibition hall of the LNMA (29.11.2012–20.01.2013). (9) The exhibition was held at the Māksla XO gallery (9.06–5.07.2011.). (10) The exhibition was held at the gallery Alma 05.10.2012–9.01.2013. (11) Nominated for his exhibition Uzticēšanās trauslums (‘The Fragility of Trust’) at the Alma gallery (28.05–27.07.2012) and his work Garā diena (‘The Long Day’) at the art festival Survival Kit 4 (6.08–16.09.2012). | |
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