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31.10. - 14.12.2024 group exhibition - NAKED GALLERIST
31.10. - 14.12.2024
Galerija "Māksla XO"
Elizabetes iela 14, Rīga, LV 1010
NAKED GALLERIST
group exhibition
Maksla XO Gallery’s anniversary exhibition is a tribute to the gallerist profession. Participating artists are invited to share their personal interpretations of their gallerist and the gallerist profession. The central motif of the exhibition is a somewhat provocative and symbolic phrase – “naked gallerist”, where “nakedness” signifies revelation: a gallerist without a mask, in a daily work, in heart, in passions and love for art or artists. For both the gallerist and the artist, nakedness is equal parts emotional openness and vulnerability – showing soul as honestly/truly as body.
More than 20 artists from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Brazil, France, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, and Germany are participating in the group exhibition „Naked Gallerist”, showcasing a variety of visual art media. Depending on the artist’s personal experience and practice working together with the gallerist, the exhibition represents various forms of the gallerist – realistic and caricatured, ironic and full of humour, in text format, or as a philosophical reflection; a shape formed expressed purely through colour. Most of the authors invited by curator Ilze Zeivate have been collaborating with Maksla XO Gallery since its foundation.
“Working in a gallery is a dynamic process and constantly evolving experience, where there is always something new. There is no routine – each new exhibition and incoming artwork brings fresh ideas and energy. Running a gallery is more than just a business – it’s love, passion, and obsession. Belief in a dream. It is impossible to run a gallery without emotions, as both the artist and the viewer are humans of emotions.” – Ilze Zeivate, the founder of Maksla XO Gallery
What is a gallerist, and what does this profession really mean? There are no rules that define it. Being a gallerist is like plunging into art – just like jumping into icy water without knowing how to swim properly. This is the common phrase often said by some of the greatest gallerists of the 20th century and today, especially women gallerists. It’s a challenge where unpredictability and instincts are as important as knowledge. The gallerist balances between the worlds of art creators and viewers, searching for that delicate balance where art becomes the breath of life. It is a profession where every step reveals something new, unknown, and passion is what makes you go further. The unknown that you jump into and the unknown that you learn when working with an artist, as every artist is a unique individual. It is impossible to set specific rules on how to work with a person who creates. The relationship between gallerist and artist can be compared to “living together” or even “marriage”, where both have to give in return. If only one gives, then living together does not happen, and sooner or later, divorce occurs. On the other hand, if the cooperation succeeds, great things can be accomplished – important projects can be achieved, sometimes even mutually altruistic, which do not always pay off in monetary terms, but always pay off emotionally. “When I decide for artists, my criteria for this decision come only from the combination on knowledge and intuition. Therefore, I must above all believe in myself and my own standarts of quality that I have built up over the decades. If the confrimation comes from another direction, then all the better” – Ursula Krinzinger (the founder of Galerie Krinzinger in Vienna and the art support fund and residencies in Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Sri Lanka).
There is also a special relationship, affection and living together with the artworks in which the gallerist falls in love, and then this love fills the premises and storage. However, it’s important to learn to let them go; every artwork finds its right place. “If you have good artists, then they can change the world in a very short time [..]People will always judge the artwork, which lasts longer then the person who created it” – Volker Diehl (the founder of DIEHL Gallery in Berlin).
Maksla XO Gallery was founded in 1999 by its founder and exhibition curator, Ilze Zeivate. Over the past twenty-five years, the gallery has organized 537 exhibitions, including 461 solo exhibitions featuring both Latvian and international artists. The gallery collaborates with galleries, art funds, collectors, art experts, and museums in Latvia and abroad, engaging in local and international projects. For the past fifteen years, the gallery has regularly represented Latvian contemporary artists at European art fairs and group exhibitions.
Text by MA Biruta Aurina (Maksla XO Gallery)
The artists of the exhibition NAKED GALLERIST:
Jana Brike (Latvia), Michel Castaignet (France), Anna Heinrihsone (Latvia), Helena Heinrihsone (Latvia), Ivars Heinrihsons (Latvia), Ieva Iltnere (Latvia), Zane Iltnere (Latvia), Franceska Kirke (Latvia), Bodo Korsig (Germany), Tatjana Krivenkova (Latvia), Paulis Liepa (Latvia), Klavs Loris (Latvia), Marko Mäetamm (Estonia), Luciana Mariano (Brazil), Erik Mattijssen (Netherlands), Girts Muiznieks (Latvia), Victor Paukštelis (Lithuania), David Penny (United Kingdom), Jay Senetchko (Canada), Olga Silova (Latvia), Janis Sneiders (Latvia), Kristaps Zarins (Latvia), Zane Zeivate (Latvia)