The exhibition “Starting Point” consists of works created by two artists - the landscapes of Old Riga painted by the outstanding Latvian artist Edgars Vinters (1919-2014), and the photos by the artist-photographer Martin Kudryavtsev, who recreated the paintings of Vinters through a camera lens from the particular places where the famous master had painted his pictures. In the photos, the cobbled streets of Riga and the historical stone churches have retained their eternal appearance, but the other surroundings have changed with the times.
The main theme of the exhibition is the fixation on the environment in paintings and photos at different times. These two techniques are perfect to characterize the sense of time, which is momentary and constant at the same time. The historical center of Riga is depicted in its time segment, looking through the retrospective. The focus is set on the heritage of different generations and common starting points. These points message to each generation and can be translated into several meanings. It is presence and eternity at the same time, impressions and memories, reality and recognition - each of viewers can evaluate it according to their experience.
One might wonder - what the values of the next generation will be - will the traditions be preserved?
Edgar Vinters’ works cover landscapes, still life and flower painting, however, this exhibition presents his urban works, which are probably less known to the public. As a plein-air artist and a city painter, Vinters has created countless paintings on canvas and cardboard that seek harmony between water, sky, meadows, flowers and cereal fields, or between variations of historic city pavements, walls and church towers. The naturalness of details, clear texture, dynamic movements, and radiant sunshine - all depict the process of observation in impressionistic brush strokes.
The exhibition "Starting Point" is organized by the art space "Art Platz". The exhibition will be on display at the Dauderi Museum of the LNVM from August 26 to September 27, 2020. There will be showcased a total of 14 paintings by Edgar Vinters, made between 1972 and 2010, and 14 photos by Martin Kudryavtsev taken in 2020.