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June 2019

Linda
In Exhibition

Sparkling “Summer Show”

Summer Show

Curated by Linda Bajàre

On June 20, the exhibition “Summer Show” was opened, an intriguing artistic project curated by Linda Bajàre which presents the international artists Artis Nīmanis and Aivars Kisnics in Italy.

Scheduled until September 5, the exhibition is held at the prestigious Palazzo Matteotti in Milan, immersed in the atmosphere of the Italian capital of luxury, just a few steps from the Quadrilatero della Moda.
The Dedica Anthology, a new luxury hotel brand, is a vibrant part of the city and a fascinating depository of unique and authentic stories that are also told through temporary exhibitions like the Summer Show.

The works of the two Latvian artists interact with the exclusive spaces of Palazzo Matteotti, creating an exhibition itinerary that welcomes the visitor from the moment he enters and accompanies them to the Gallery Hall, the main hall of the exhibition.

The essentiality of the forms and of the sign are traits that unite Artis Nīmanis and Aivars Kisnics, like the profound manual skill that shines through in their works: the works exhibited – 21 in total – are charged with feeling, emotion and intense colors capable of enchanting the viewer offering a journey to infinity.

Despite being very different from each other, the echoes and references between the two artists are continuous and their works interpenetrate each other: the 14 canvases by Kisnics range from delicate and almost monochrome oils on canvas to bright, passionate color compositions that emit all the energy of the sea and summer; as well as the 7 sculptures of Nīmanis play with the theme of water, of carefree games on sunny days.

Equipped with a strong expressive charge, painting and sculpture are the two forms of art with which Latvian artists want to focus attention on the importance of technical research and experimentation on the subject.

From the “interior landscapes” of Kisnics, where skilfully superimposed pictorial layers on the canvas embody the mutability of the conditions and moods of the most important “forces of nature” – the sea and the human being – to the rigor and sinuosity of the forms of Nīmanis’s works that, thanks to the luminescence of the glass and the metallic reflections of the materials, capture the viewer’s gaze on a journey to infinity: Summer Show by the curator Linda Bajàre represents the impetus of a wave that guides the artistic research of two Masters able to amaze and excite the observer, bringing a breath of color and freshness to an exhibition dedicated to the effervescence of summer.

“All my works are multi-layered abstractions, composed of ten to thirty layers of color, carefully studied to enhance every mood,” says Aivars Kisnics, recounting his works: abstract landscapes that tell of sunsets, sunrises, wind and mirrors of water, horizons and chromatic games linked to the theme of the sea.

Next to them the magic of the sculptures by Artis Nīmanis dialogues, where glass, gold, silver and bronze bring us back, in a game of mirrors and visual effects rendered by light, to the origin of the universe: mysterious places to discover, in which each of us, as in a maze, can find his own intimate and personal path.

ARTISTI PRESENTATI:

ARTIS NĪMANIS
Latvia 1978

Artis Nīmanis is one of the best known Latvian artists: his works have been exhibited both in personal and in group exhibitions all over the world, including Europe, America and Asia. During a period of time that lasted about twenty years, Artis Nīmanis managed to achieve a unique technique thanks to a constant work of experimentation and research on the art of glass processing: the innovative method patented by him is at the base of the creative process of the artist, who manages to achieve a unique result by expertly combining glass and precious metals. This technique is based on a very particular procedure during which the glass, in the absence of air, is coated with a very thin layer of metal that gives the characteristic “mirror” effect to the glass surface. The fragility of glass, combined with a great variety of materials such as gold, silver, bronze and copper, make these sculptures even more mysterious. The originality of the works, the visual effects, the light emanating from the works of Nīmanis mean that the artist opens a door to a magical and mysterious world rich in unexpected transparencies. Glass, gold, silver and bronze bring us back to the origin of the universe in a game of mirrors and visual effects rendered by light: mysterious and undiscovered places, where each of us, as in a maze , can find its own intimate and personal path. To further increase this magical atmosphere given off by his works, the artist pays special attention to light: the different faceted surfaces of the glass create further optical effects and illusionistic combinations. Nīmanis in fact always creates optical illusions in his sculptures and for this reason the use of the mirror in his works plays a fundamental role, capable of giving his impressive technique a very high quality. The marked aesthetic sense of stylized forms, lines, rhythm, impulse, emotion and sensuality, and the treatment and perception of the fluidity of art, make Nīmanis appear among the greatest European glass artists.

AIVARS KISNICS
Latvia 1955

Born and raised in Latvia, Kisnics approaches art from a young age, participating in numerous painting and photography competitions. During the times of Soviet occupation he is forced to abandon the art, to carry out the career of captain of ship in the Baltic Sea. From 2005 he resumed painting and devoted himself completely to the oil technique on canvas of the school of abstract expressionism. The close relationship with the sea, where he spent most of his life, is the common thread and the source of inspiration for his paintings, where he transmits the emotion that the seascapes give, the beauty of dawn and the magic of sunsets, moments of perfect calm and serenity, in contrast with the strong energy of the storms and the torment of the waves.
In Kisnics’ painting nothing is left to instinct as the violent jet of color might suggest, each brushstroke is carefully considered with a rigor and evident technical precision, like a drawing in which the colors are mixed in a meticulous and orderly manner.

 

 

“The shades of the art rainbow are endless: choose your favorite!”

 

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Linda
In Art Basel

What do you know about Art Basel?

Art Basel Linda Bajare

As every year, the appointment with Art Basel is back, open to public from 13 to 16 June, with the most important contemporary art fair in the world, born in 1970 thanks to the intuition of gallery owners and collectors Trudl Bruckner, Balz Hilt and spouses Ernst and Hildy Beyeler.

The founders – eminent personalities and avant-garde figures, were looking far ahead and sensed the great potential for a new market destined to change the history of art.

Legendary personalities such as Trudl Bruckner, a Swiss gallerist who during her 44 years of activity made “Basel zuliebe” – “for the love of Basel” – her slogan, is one of the female figures standing at the origins of the fair’s conception.

Together with her on the way to transforming Basel into an international center of contemporary art, the spouses Beyeler, cultured and sophisticated “old style” collectors – both patrons and merchants – created a collection of over 200 absolute masterpieces by artists such as Rothko , Klee, Giacometti and Picasso, with whom the couple had developed relationships of friendship and mutual respect.

In 1997, the Beyelers established the Foundation named after them, which has become the most visited in all of Switzerland and the most international, with 52% of foreign visitors.

Created as an answer and alternative of the German Art Cologne, the Swiss fair was successful from the very beginning, with over 16,000 visitors to the inaugural exhibition, 90 participating galleries and 30 publishers from 10 different countries.
The numbers were destined to grow exponentially within very few editions, if we consider that to date the participating galleries have risen to 290 coming from 34 countries.

Basel, from a typical town on the Rhine, becomes an international meeting and exchange place for all art dealers, art lovers and collectors and after 49 years it continues to be the most important international event in the field of art, not only in terms of the market, but also research.

The exhibition includes all forms of artistic expression such as painting, graphics, installation, photography, performance and video art, developed especially since the late 90s with “Video Forum”, a section dedicated to the interaction of art with technological media and first of all with the video art, then “Art Unlimited” was launched, giving space to large-scale installations created through the use of a wide variety of means of expression.

Demonstrating its international character, since 2002 the Basel fair has expanded overseas for the winter edition that takes place in Miami under the name of Art Basel Miami Beach (scheduled this year from 5 to 8 December). It was also in those years that Art Basel Conversations appeared, discussions with the main representatives of the art world – among the art collectors, museum directors, curators, artists, art critics and architects – providing access to information first hand on various aspects of the art world.

If prior to the Art Basel fair all the fairs were of a national character, then since its foundation the meaning of artistic manifestation has changed, and all the directors who have followed one another over the years have wanted to impress that seal of internationality and of superlative quality that is still maintained intact in its primacy. The commission carefully considers the candidates – galleries, artists and related works proposed for the exhibition – and this selection guarantees and protects the requirements necessary to participate in the prestigious fair.
The international character of the event is once again is emphasized by Art Basel Hong Kong, launched in 2013, allowing for a privileged observation point of the dynamics of the Eastern market. The next appointment is from 19 to 21 March 2020.

The turnover of millions of dollars for each edition and the huge capitals that revolve around Art Basel are amazing, with astounding numbers that reflect the economic impact the big fairs have on the global art market.
The main actors are mainly three: Art Basel – which belongs to the MCH group – Frieze London and Tefaf Maastricht: continuous expansion across continents and support from financial institutions (UBS in the case of Art Basel) are just some of the factors that determine the constant increase in growth.

Among other things, it became known these days that MCH Group, the company owning Art Basel and Masterpiece London, has decided to sell the Art Düsseldorf fair in order to focus more on the two “flagship horses” of their team.

So, what role do non-commercial events play in the art market?
The question could be answered with the statement: “See in Venice, buy in Basel”, this is the collectors’ motto that can serve as an example suggesting of the close link between the non-profit Biennale and the most famous commercial fair.
Venice, with its prestige, provides good visibility to the participating artists and gives an overview of the news and new interesting names.

There is no doubt that sales are made earlier in the Serenissima (Serene Republic), a fact that is confirmed by over one hundred exhibitions held in addition to the official Biennale program of this year.
For example, the Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery supports artists such as Lee Bul, Baselitz, Vedova and Ghenie present in Venice, and three of them are offered for sale in Basel.
Just as the Carpenters Workshop Gallery offers to buy the work of Maarten Baas, an artist presented at the Biennale. Equally the White Cube offers the artist Ibrahim Mahama, who represents the Ghana Pavilion.
At the exhibition we also find other artists participating in the 58th Biennale, such as Zanele Muholi, Kemang Wa Lehulere, Mawande Ka Zenzile, Frida Orupabo, Kris Lemsalu, Tamás Waliczky, Cathy Wilkes, Arshile Gorky, Günter Förg, Martin Puryear, Christoph Büchel.

 

“The shades of the art rainbow are endless: choose your favorite!”

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