08.06. - 08.07.2023

Galerija "Māksla XO"

Elizabetes iela 14, Rīga, LV 1010

GIRTS MUIZNIEKS

Jurmala

„I lived on Lāčpleša Street in Riga in an Art Nouveau-style building from the moment I was born. My sense of home centred around the St. Alexander Nevsky Church and the intersection of Lāčpleša / Terbatas Streets. The completely spontaneous decision to move to the old wooden house in Jurmala did not initially seem like something that could change my rhythm. However, when I became a resident of Jurmala, I got into a world whose energy field dragged me into a completely different vortex. The order is often determined by wind, flood, drought, and heat; woodpeckers in the backyard, a fox near the local store; and the wooden house, which demands introspection and self-love. In Jurmala, splendour and desolation live side by side, ghosts of the past and beautiful images. To a certain extent, the building element, which is one of the reference points of this exhibition, is like a symbol, a nostalgic reference to the world of Jurmala - a part of it is slowly disappearing, torn apart and yet still present. It needs love, and at the same time, it reflects how different realities and times overlap, creating a space that reveals an infinite number of imprints upon entering. I don’t particularly look for them; they come to me by themselves.
The exhibition is a continuation of the jute series started a couple of years ago, the starting point of which was the desire to get closer to the mystery of the miracle, Greek mysteries and Bible stories, the pursuit of revelation and the true reality that man is not able to see. The complexity and structure of this canvas are somewhat a symbol of how infinitely long and endless the path to the great truths is. Jurmala helps me” – Girts Muiznieks, 2023.

Girts Muiznieks expressive painting is characterized by impulsiveness, improvisation and a refinement of colour. When he began taking part in exhibitions, the “temperament and powerful colour” of his paintings attracted attention. His works was labelled “spontaneous painting”, and it was noted that right away that “alla prima studies create the freest artists”. His art is often compared to poetry. He works on the floor: pouring, dripping and flooding paints one on top of the other, so that the colour fields and line rhythms create a new reality full of associations.” (Viktor Misiano)

Girts Muiznieks graduated from the Art Academy of Latvia (1982) and studied under the painter Inta Celmina. He lives and works in Jurmala, Latvia.
Works are in public collections: Latvian National Museum of Art (Riga, Latvia), Zuzans Collection (Zuzeum Art Centre, Riga, Latvia), M. K. Ciurlionis National Museum of Art (Kaunas, Lithuania), State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow, Russia), Russian Ministry of Culture (Moscow, Russia), Georgian Museum of Art (Tbilisi, Georgia), European Central Bank Art Collection (Frankfurt, Germany)