The 17th International Painting Symposium “Mark Rothko 2021” – Culture, Art has started in Daugavpils

With the participation of nine artists from seven countries, Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Center is organizing the international painting symposium “Mark Rothko 2021” for the 17th time.

17 years ago, there was no exhibition hall or artist’s workshop in Daugavpils Fortress. Abandoned houses were waiting to be filled. But even then, this once militarized environment enticed creative people to express themselves – both in semi-legal trance events, both in search of relics of the past and in the first art plein airs “Mark Rothko”.

Over time, the place inspired art, but art filled the place, and now it is no longer possible to distinguish who has created what, but the surroundings have clearly changed. Perhaps it was this special atmosphere that once influenced the world-famous artist Mark Rothko, who was born in Daugavpils, to embark on a creative journey. It is equally possible that the life story of Mark Rothko makes us see in this place more than the sun setting on the Daugava or the forest line on the horizon. In any case, the objective reality shows how many artists continue to be influenced by both Rothko’s work and the time spent in Daugavpils Fortress.

Therefore, for the 17th time, the Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Center, which has occupied the building of the former artillery arsenal in the fortress, is organizing the painting symposium “Mark Rothko 2021” with special enthusiasm. Transformed from an open-air plein air into a stable symposium with world-famous guest artists, this event becomes a place and time where art changes the surroundings.

The closing exhibition of the symposium “Mark Rothko 2021” will open on September 17, and from 16.00 to 19.00 everyone is invited to be impressed by the newly created works that will enrich the city’s art collection.

The symposium is attended by:

Joanna Potla (USA)

Amy Wensell (USA)

Cuba Janist (Poland)

Arvid Becker (Germany)

Barbara Niča (Polija)

Rene de Rose (Netherlands)

Leon Phillips (Canada)

Andrew Smith (UK)

Maris Upzars (Latvia)

Publicity photo:

Symposium “Mark Rothko 2021” creative process (photo: Santa Suhanova)

Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Center

–