Maija Kurseva

Maija Kurseva (1981)

Maija Kurševa is an artist working with a vast range of mediums, often combining them. Her exhibitions over the last few years have included installations, spatial structures, combined with moving images, graphics, drawings and sculptures. The artist’s ideas often revolve around personal contemplations about the process of creation of a work of art, subjecting the space to an idea, by using visually laconic means of expression. Regardless of the extensive use of mediums, drawing has always been at the bedrock of the artist’s ideas, and it also functions as the method of taking notes of thoughts that pop up on a daily basis.

Maija Kurseva’s latest series “Black Lines” consists of spatial drawings. These are thoughts about a drawing and a line. How to show the flow of thoughts, without using a language? Image on the paper is confined in plane. The line can be carried into space, forced to the gravity, provided with the potential of movement. The colour of the gouache is deeply black, matte and pleasant, the paper cut-out gouache lines on the wall are retained with a brown touch of acrylic. Minimal and flowing shapes do not attempt to portray anything specific, but in observation, the mind forms associations and seeks the recognizable. The process of the work is intuitive – one thing leads to the next. Here we see the waypoint, not the end.

“The thing that characterizes my circle of interests is humour and the fact that I don’t restrict myself in a specific medium. In the future, I also hope to try something new every time, broaden my technical abilities or limits of freedom. Invent something from nothing – there’s nothing here, and then suddenly there’s something! Make up from nothing, invent something new – it’s incredibly awesome! ” (Maija Kurseva)

Maija Kurseva graduated with BA (2006) and MA (2008) degrees from the Visual Communication programme of the Art Academy of Latvia. She has studied at the Department of Visual Communication at the Berlin University of the Arts (2004). Currently Maija Kurseva teaches composition and screen printing at the Art Academy of Latvia, Movement. Image. Sound department.
Maija Kurseva is open to spontaneous ideas and phenomena of various art processes that are happening right now: since 2012, she is one of the founders and editors of ''Popper Publishing'', as well as the founder and director of gallery “Low” (2019-2017). She is also the founder and curator of Riga Zine Festival (2016, 2018). Since 2004, Maija Kurseva’s works have been exhibited in Latvia and abroad.
Maija Kurseva's works are in public and private collections – Latvian National Museum of Art (Riga, Latvia), Contemporary Art Museum Collection (Riga, Latvia).