LATIA- From April 28 to May 28 of this year, an exhibition of paintings by Latvian artists – “Reflections of the Age” will be on display at the Riga Stock Exchange Art Museum. Latvian painting collection of Rietumu Bank”. It will include around 50 works created in the period from the 20th century. 20s to 90s, including those that are exhibited for the first time.
The upcoming exhibition concludes the cycle of events dedicated to the 30th anniversary since Rietumu banka began serving its first customers in the fall of 1992.
“We will be happy to show painting lovers and specialists the best works from our collection, which were selected for the exhibition in cooperation with museum specialists. The bank is rightly proud of its collection, which has long become part of our identity. And the central place in it is occupied by the works of Latvian art classics.
Rietumu banka’s collection is well known in our country, but up until now only the bank’s employees and customers have had a practical opportunity to get acquainted with its best part, who know: paintings and sculptures are placed in our workplaces – they work together with us, creating a mood for creative intellectual work.
Many of these paintings have not left the walls of the bank building for many years, and the upcoming exhibition makes them available to a wide circle of lovers of Latvian fine art. On behalf of Rietumu banka, I want them to have pleasure and a charge of positive creative energy, which is so necessary for all of us in our daily life and work,” says Jeļena Buraja, Chairman of the Management Board of Rietumu banka.
The origins of Rietumu banka’s collection of art objects – paintings, graphics, sculptures – date back to the 1990s. It can be divided into two wings, two important parts: a very interesting selection of works by Western European and American authors and a collection of Latvian paintings, which in terms of volume is much larger than the “western” part.
“A selection of 20th century paintings by Latvian artists has been chosen for the exposition of the exhibition, because it presents the experience of the reality of its era, which is reflected in the European art tradition, but with a Latvian vision and touch. It combines the emotions felt by the artist and the viewer, and is about the passion to live, thanks to or in spite of the age.
Landscape and still life are among the most popular painting themes in the collection, which also characterize the cultural environment. Forest vistas, river bays, seashores and city views, as well as objects and flowers, can actively express the spirit of a creative personality. These motifs have inspired Konrāda Ubān, Aleksandar Beļtsova, Ludolfa Liberta, Eduard Kalniņa, Leo Svempa, Rudolph Pinna, Valdi Kalnrozi, Imanta Vecozola and many others. On the other hand, man in all his manifestations has always interested Jānis Ferdinand Tīdemanis, Jānis Pauļuks and Džemma Skulmi. The connection that unites these works is personal and subjective, as it tends to be in private collections, when pragmatic considerations go hand in hand with an irrational impulse – like it, that’s all. At the same time, it is an important part of the art history of Latvia, which is now available to the public for a short time, because the works of art are located in the bank’s office premises every day.
The choice to emphasize cultural values on the occasion of the anniversary is natural – Rietumu Banka is a long-term supporter of various art projects. The National Art Museum of Latvia, in cooperation with the bank, has implemented such an ambitious exhibition and publication of catalogs as “The Metaphysics of Light. The painting of Ivan Aivazovsk” (2021), “Leon Baksts and his time” (2016), views of the largest works of the Faberge jeweler’s house in Latvia (2012), “The 20th century of the Museum of Foreign Art. early Belgian art collection” (2010), 19th-20th century Russian painting from the LNMM collection “Truth and Beauty” (2009), “Days of Indonesian Culture and Crafts” (2009), “Sevres Porcelain. 18th – 21st century” within the framework of the “French Spring” festival (2007) and others” – says the annotation of the exhibition, which was prepared by the specialists of the Riga Stock Exchange Art Museum.
