The artist residence of the Karosta water tower, which has been inviting visitors to enjoy high-quality art and the process of its creation for four summers, has just closed its doors until the next season.
More than 4,000 spectators have visited the tower this summer, Iveta Vēvere, communications manager of the Karosta water tower project, informed the portal.
Every summer, the curator of the residence, Egons Peršēvics, invites the most outstanding artists of Latvia to move their workshops and exhibit their works for public viewing. This summer, we were able to meet painters Līga Ķempi, Klāvas Lori and Gunta Lanti while working at the Karosta Water Tower, who all agree that the Karosta Water Tower Artists’ Residence is a great contribution to the cultural space of Latvia.
“There are huge rooms here, they simply unleash the flight of thoughts and scope,” rejoices Klaavs Loris, who has 8 large-format paintings made in the tower, some of which will soon travel to the Berlin Art Fair, others, possibly to London. Working in the presence of the public has also become a new but valuable experience for Klaav: “When one and a half hundred people come in during the day and stand behind and watch, it’s a bit of a strange feeling.”
Gunta Lante also admits that working in front of strangers was a fantastic and very valuable experience: “I won’t say that it was morally easy, because it distracts from work, and it certainly affects my work, as well as enriches me. I am very grateful to everyone to the visitor whom I met and saw. There was this opportunity to talk to each other, to explain the works, to talk about art in Latvia and the world. These conversations were very meaningful and interesting.”
“The tower itself has definitely influenced my works, especially in the choice of formats. That spaciousness, its sense of spirituality, grandiose architecture and light colors – which are both very impressive and also so light. Looking here at my already large works, I realized that I can bigger and even wants bigger. That vastness and the fact that there is no limit gives the artist such a winged feeling.” Several of the large-format works created in Guntas tower have already found their owners, some will be on display in the exhibition in Riga.
On the other hand, Līga Ķempe had both large-format paintings and miniature works exhibited in the tower. Initially, I had no idea how unusual an adventure I was invited to: “This is a heavenly place – a paradise for artists and art!”
“All this bouquet of feelings and emotions experienced here have entered my canvases as well. They are literally like this summer diary for me.” The collection of daily stories created in the tower during the summer in the form of miniature paintings will now be on display in Liepāja’s “Parka Pavilion”. The grand opening of the exhibition is expected on September 21 at 6 p.m.
In order to enrich the visitors’ experience, the curator of the residence also works in the tower in parallel with the painters. Here, where his large-format works have already been created – the legendary Mermaid of Karosta and also the “Artist’s Manifesto”, the sculptor created a large-sized tab this summer, continued his portrait studies, this time reproducing his colleagues, and also invited interested parties to exploratory art lectures.
The artists’ residence of the Karosta Water Tower in Liepāja is a unique project by the artist Egon Perševits, created with the aim of giving the general public the opportunity not only to enjoy the historic architecture and impressive interiors of the water tower, but also to experience the aura of creativity by looking into the daily work of outstanding artists. Every season, the tower serves as an on-site workshop for various renowned artists. At the beginning of this year, the artist residence of the Karosta water tower was awarded the Latvian public media annual award “Kilograms of Cultures” for its activities.
The residence of the artists of the Liepāja Karosta water tower has been possible for four years thanks to the support of the company “Liepājas ūdes”, the Karosta rescue society, as well as the Liepāja Culture Board and can be visited for free in the summer season.
You can follow the current events of the Karosta water tower artist residency: www.facebook.com and www.instagram.com.
2023-09-10 18:01:56
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