March is the month of Liepāja’s birthday and the beginning of astronomical spring. The sudden proximity of spring encourages us to blossom and look for colors that can be found at the Liepāja Latvian Society House from March 3 to 30, where the young painter Baiba Feoktistova’s gorgeous and vibrant solo exhibition “Portrait of Femininity” will be on display.
The exhibition will feature the artist’s works created in the period from 2019 to 2023.
Baiba Feoktistova took an important step a couple of years ago, she left her paid job to focus on her passion – painting. “At that point, I was willing to risk some security to get what I have now.
My decision was also influenced by the fact that I didn’t want to realize at the age of 50 that I hadn’t even tried to realize myself in painting,”
in an interview, the young artist justified her decision.
At the center of Baiba Feoktistova’s work is a woman. In her works, the author experiments with the depiction of women. “Some of the paintings are portraits, in which the characters have an expressive look and peaceful facial features, supplemented with elements of flora and fauna.
The beautiful flowers, animals and tropical birds each carry a symbolic meaning, creating a story about the qualities that a woman possesses.
On the other hand, flowers, berries and fruits serve as a symbol of fertility, which celebrates mother nature and the creative power of women,” informs the artist, adding that a different nature of women is reflected in her figurative paintings, in which the gaze of the image is obscured, highlighting youthful bodies.
“These works were created to demonstrate the frivolous, flirtatious and seductive nature of a woman, which is a frequent phenomenon in the depiction of modern women,” says B. Feoktistova.
Each creative period has its own style, colors and depicted symbols. As the artist reveals, through her works she explores her experiences and the search for femininity.
The artist Baiba Feoktistova acquired most of her skills in the process of self-learning, in which the experience she gained while learning the profession of a jeweler from Oleg Auzer played an important role, which allowed her to develop spatial thinking. On the other hand, he learned the painting technique while studying privately with the painter Arturas Auzers.
The young artist mainly works in oil and acrylic techniques, she also uses gold foil.
To develop one large-sized work (150 x150 cm), the artist needs about two months.
In recent years, Baiba Feoktistova has regularly organized solo exhibitions in Rēzekne, Līgatne and Cēsis, in the period from 2020 to 2021 she created cover illustrations for the magazine “I’mperfekt”, as well as developed product packaging designs.
The exhibition will be open for free until March 30.
