30.09. - 15.12.2021

Galerija "Māksla XO"

Elizabetes iela 14, Rīga, LV 1010

SANDRA KRASTINA

One and Only

“The One and Only is nothing but ourselves. In painting, we can only talk about it by means of color.

Red
We tend to watch the sunset or wait for the sunrise. Even if there is someone else beside us, we grasp the direct fusion with the incomprehensible existence of nature representing eternity, this unifyingly inclusive sense of the moment, on our own. And then we hastily take photos, share them on digital platforms, so that others could see the proof of the coexistence with the mighty. I put several red sunset screens on one canvas, thus in its varied multiplication the individual significance is transferred only in numerically recordable statistics, the personal being transformed into an anonymous unit.

White
The white dress bears a symbolic meaning, whether made for child’s baptism or being a confirmation dress of a young woman, a bridal gown or bleached linens mentioned in folklore - these examples send signals of woman's diligence and virtue. More than a century ago, the first women's rights defenders wore lace-trimmed white dresses to participate in large-scale demonstrations. Even now, in Belarus, women have demonstrated their disobedience to the dictatorship by wearing something white to the protests. To read this message, we don't even need to know the women wearing these clothes personally, we just need to analyze the context for the white of the costume. Color can serve as a hideout by manipulating with the seemingly calm lightness.
In the series “White Dress”, instead of talking about clothes, I talk about Baiba, Anda, Sibilla, Ingrida, Veronika, more, and more - about personalities with their own name, overwhelmed with specific emotions and goals. Wearing this costume, weaved with multiple meanings, they embody the desired character, becoming invisible themselves.

Pink
By mixing red with white, is it possible to get the lovely pink, which is called the girls’ favorite color? It doesn’t matter that from the historical point of view it used to accentuate masculinity. The contrast of red and white is known to every woman as a kind of sign of identity, which includes both - a sense of anxiety and a sense of strength. In that case - by mixing white with red, can you get the comfort of the promising Pink? ”- Sandra Krastina, 2021.

Painter Sandra Krastina is part of the “Maigās svārstības (Gentle Fluctuations)” - a group of young, creative painters of the 1980s, who changed the public view on Latvian traditional painting. Art critics singled out the so-called “women’s painting” - women painted by other women - Sandra Krastina, Aija Zarina, Ieva Iltnere, Francesca Kirke, Dace Liela.
Today Sandra Krastina’s art is characterized by special attentiveness and sensitivity, at the same time keeping a tendency towards analytical thinking and drama, even tragedy. In her various creative expressions, she finds ever new means of expression in order to introduce the viewer to this way of perception and cognition of the world. The artist asks questions to herself and others, looks for answers, does not find clear ones, but gets an inkling and makes viewers guess them.

Sandra Krastina’s most significant exhibitions and projects in the recent years: in 2017, together with actor Vilis Daudzins and photographer Janis Deinats, the exhibition #dienasvaronis (“Hero of the Day”), forming reflections on the theme of a modern hero, language. The theme of Hero continues by creating paintings in various techniques - overglazed painting on glazed tiles (Art Centre NOASS, “Mirage”, 2018), series of large-format paintings with whiteboard paint and chalk “The Screen” (Mark Rothko Art Center, 2018), dedicated to the historic district of Abrene, as well as the exhibition #zvejniekadels (“Son of a Fisherman”, 2019), where she used 8x9 meter wide construction film.