11.10.2018 - 10.11.2018.

Painter Agate Apkalne's latest works are united in a cycle called "Sorrow of soul". This title entails plenty of widely interpretable information, much like our conscious thoughts are only a little shell around that energy and force which pertain to the irrational and subconscious sources of human psyche.

In her new cycle, the artist takes the viewer to the depths of her personality, where storms interchange with serenity and quiet, melancholy with harmony, endless pursuits with joyful moments of revelation. The cycle can be perceived as a journey, permitting to explore oneself, whilst keeping in mind the Freudian concept that self-exploration changes a person. The hyperrealistic, virtuosic, psychologically and semantically saturated style of Agate Apkalne supposedly has not changed, as it welcomes its viewers, however the colouristics of "Sadness of soul" has leaned towards monochromic nuances and the paintings express their narratives through more laconic and powerful symbols. The motifs and characters can be found within this world – in the sky, water and within the inner circle of friends, however they can also be visions of spiritual experience, for example, the well known iconographic duel with a dragon or inner demons, the encounter of consciousness and subconsciousness, the Milky way as a road home – the whole life.

A witty and innovative aproach to the traditional technique of oil painting can be observed in some of the works of the cycle, for example, altering the surface of the painting with a tiny drill as well as the consistent usage of the dry brush. The display of works is complemented by digital prints, in which the artist reveals her pleasure to watch the play of light and its potential to reflect on the mutual bonds of people. The exposition entails a video made by Kristaps Kemlers, created on the basis of the dyptich painting "Gallery of the Universe".

The author can tell her gripping personal story about each painting of this substantial exhibition. However, she prefers the viewers to perceive, comprehend and immerse into the artwork according to one’s wishes and power of imagination. She admits: "For me the "Sadness of soul" is one thing, yet it may be a completely different thing to other person. In this cycle I have thought a lot about forgiveness and gratefulness. Everything that we require in our life has already been given to us, it is our hope chest, so often contemplated and sung about in folklore. We just are not able to appreciate it. The painting "Road to home" is like my whole life. Every single star is as a huge gratitude to everyone that has come into my life. In the painting I have materialised my thoughts about the people that I have interfered with. We are all connected and we do not exist without each other. With each our action in the given moment we change our mutual future."

Agate Apkalne lives, works and passes her skills on to her students in Latvia, however her paintings have encountered their viewers more often in Germany and elsewhere in Europe – in the solo and group exhibitions organised by Berline "TVDART Galerie". She has studied art in the Riga School of Design and Art, as well as in the Department of Graphic art in the Art Academy of Latvia, which she graduated in 2005, acquiring Master’s degree. Agate Apkalne has participated in exhibitions since 2000, with her previous solo show being "Private Space" in Riga and Liepāja in 2015.
Written by Aiga Dzalbe

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