RIGA - Though Christmas is still almost two months away, a group of young, up and coming artists is already gearing up for the holiday season.
Andrejsala's Hull Shop Art Gallery's latest exhibition features 57 funky Christmas cards cooperatively designed by 14 of the area's young artists. The cards range from relatively traditional pictures of miniature Santas standing amidst piles of presents to political statements about industrialization, the war in Iraq and the environment.
Some of the cards are even quite humorous, with abstract renditions of Christmas trees made to look like toilet signs and photos of small Christmas gnome statues being launched at high speeds from plastic bottles.
The exhibition started as a fun, cooperative workshop organized by the Peahen Studio, but was so successful that it was developed into a full-scale exhibition.
"At the beginning, it was intended as one single day of collaboration, but then it extended into a multidisciplinary project that continued for nearly a fortnight. The authors not only used canvas and primed cardboard but also developed quite a few interesting photographic ideas," project coordinator Patricija Brekte said in a press release.
"The cards turned out very varied, including even collages and three-dimensional formations," he said.
Alongside the exhibition is a series of photos of the young artists at work. Some of the artists work excitedly to realize their Christmas card visions while others are caught socializing with their neighbors. All look like they are having fun.
Those who visit the exhibition are able to rate their favorite cards in a small survey that the gallery has set up. After completing the survey, visitors can collect information pamphlets about upcoming art exhibitions and the area in general.
On the whole, some of the pictures are truly clever, humorous and beautiful while others are confusing and seem amateurish. The most captivating greeting cards of the group are the ones that aim at making a political statement 's pictures of snow falling around huge construction cranes, a copse of trees devastated for decoration and Latvian military planes menacingly swooping down on the words "Merry Christmas Bagh-dad."
Some of the cards were designed by a nine-year-old. While these additions are cute for their own sake, they do not fit well with the professional work of some of the other greeting cards and unfortunately serve to cheapen the whole experience.
Overall, the exhibition is worth visiting 's or at least browsing through on the Internet 's for someone with a few hours of time to spare, but not worth rearranging a schedule for.
The exhibition is open daily from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. and runs until Nov. 11. Those who are unable to make it to the actual exhibition are able to view the cards online on the Andrejsala Web site listed below. The gallery itself is hard to find, recognizable as the only door leading directly from the parking lot of Andrejsala's cultural area.
The cards are available for sale both individually and on a large scale.
Contemporary Art Center
Hull Shop Gallery, Andrejsala
http://andrejsala.lv/145/1128/Free entrance
