08.02. - 06.03.2018

Galerija "Māksla XO"

Elizabetes iela 14, Rīga, LV 1010

MARITE GUSCIKA “HEDGE”

„I paint indistinct borders that are like a fence - a hedge, an aura, a framework for the soul and for a deeper essence. The hedge is like a living fence that removes specific borders and tries to be inviolable, but in reality it is fragile, illusory and seemingly on its own. In its own ambition, it becomes very vulnerable and provokes to be trespassed, or to be approached very closely. My paintings are my hedge.” Marite Guscika, 2018.

Marite Guscika’s painterly style is dominated by abstract compositions and a pronounced achromatic colour scheme, in its multi-layered and pastoral painting revealing subtle nuances of grey and black. Art historian Diana Barcevska characterizes Marite Guscika paintings as a young, 21st century woman's emotional barometer. But art critic Peteris Bankovskis writes: “The paintings are abundant of greys and blacks, dynamic swirls, spiral flows, maelstroms, whirlpools, coils. […] There are no straight lines that one could follow, or angles to which one could cling to. It seems that the artist visualizes the meditation, expressed in the text, as an absolutely non-linear process, as an alienation from sensually perceptible, as a renunciation from an opportunity to get attached.
In the latest solo show “Hedge”, Marite Guscika continues her meditation, demonstrating painty and open painting at the same time that flows over the borders of the canvas, inviting viewers dive into the emotional rich world of painting.

Marite Guscika has graduated from the Department of Painting of the Art Academy of Latvia (2007). Since 2003, she has participated in group exhibitions in Latvia and abroad, and organized 5 solo shows. Her works are in public collections: Latvian National Museum of Art and The Mūkusala Art Salon (Riga, Latvia).