VV Foundation is announces the first memorial exhibition of Aija Zariņa, “MAIGAIS SVĀRSTS. AIJA. 1954–2025”, which will open at the PAiR Gallery in Pāvilosta on 8 November 2025.
The exhibition “Maigais svārsts” was initially planned as the result of Aija Zariņa’s PAiR residency, but now becomes a commemorative event, honouring her immense contribution to the development of Latvian visual art.
In 2024, Aija Zariņa presented a clear exhibition concept, continuing her role as a spiritual leader of Latvian culture: “The leading theme of this project is nature, because nature is one of the main creators of living beings. The greatest challenge for humanity in the technological age is the acceleration of rhythm, while at the same time preserving nature’s slow system of renewal. The most important thing is to maintain the human connection with nature, because it restores the human being as a natural creature. This connection allows one to grow and develop one’s inner resources. Nature is the place where one can improve.”
After the artist’s passing on 20 July this year, curator Kristians Fukss, in collaboration with the artist’s daughter Tīna Zariņa and VV Foundation, decided to shape the exhibition as a memorial. It will feature some of the artist’s final watercolours, documentary photographs by Haralds Vecvagars, and a soundscape created for the exhibition by Aleksis Luriņš.
Curator Kristians Fukss says: “The horizon in Zariņa’s works serves as a reference point. Now Aija has crossed beyond it, but it is still visible in her works, which were created as studies for large-scale pieces. The colourful watercolours are alive. The individual spirits of seas, trees, animals, stones, and humans are depicted in endless movement through different colours. The works affirm the artist’s role as an important spiritual leader, showing the path for the nation’s future development.”
The exhibition will be complemented by a video interview with Aija Zariņa from the programme “Vakara intervija” (2004), which will be available in the PAiR residency library. After the exhibition opening, there will be a lecture in which art historian, curator, and researcher Dr. art. Elita Ansone will share insights about Aija’s work with space since the 1980s. Director Māra Ķimele will also present a lecture on the scenography created by the artist for productions “Pārventas hetēra”, “Karalis Līrs”, “Rutes grāmata” and “Mani mīl Šekspīrs” in the 1990s.
Admission is free. After the opening, the exhibition will be accessible by prior appointment.
Opening programme:
14:00 Exhibition opening
15.00 Elita Ansone’s lecture on Aija Zariņa's work with space since the 1980s.
Māra Ķimele’s lecture on Aija Zariņa’s scenography works.
The lectures will take place at the Pāvilosta Art School’s hall, Ernesta Šneidera laukums 2.
About the artist:
Aija Zariņa (1954–2025) was a major figure in shaping Latvian contemporary art, expanding painting space with a free, childlike hand and a monumental scope. She also created objects and spatial installations, with a broad range of exhibitions spanning over nearly forty years, both in Europe and the United States. Aija’s passing marks the end of a distinct period in the history of Latvian contemporary art.
Her works are held in the collection of the Latvian National Museum of Art, the PNM Gallery Zacheta (Warsaw, Poland), the Zimmerli Art Museum (New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA), the Baryshnikov Arts Center (New York, USA), the MacKenzie Art Gallery (Saskatchewan, Canada), ZUZEUM, VV Foundation, as well as in other public and private collections in Latvia and abroad.
Opening programme participants:
Elita Ansone (1964) is an art historian, curator, and researcher. She has written accompanying texts for Aija Zariņa’s exhibitions “Kentaurs, putns un zilonis” (Soros Center for Contemporary Arts, 1993), “Aija zīmē. Aija zīmē” (Latvian National Museum of Art, 1998), “Princese uz zirņa” (LNMM Exhibition Hall Arsenāls, 2007), “Mans ceļš” (Museum Kampa, Prague, 2008), and “Mosties, mosties reiz, svabadais gars” (LNMM, 2019), as well as for the books “AIJA” (Blankenfelde, 2007) and “Maigās svārstības” (Neputns, 2023), and catalogues such as “Nākotnes valsts” (LNMM Exhibition Hall Arsenāls, 2018), "Tikai neraudi!” (LNMM, 2023), among others.
Māra Ķimele (1943) is a director, stage art pedagogue, performance artist, and actress. Over more than fifty years, she has created landmark productions in Latvian and international theatres, developing psychological acting techniques. Until 1989, she worked at Valmiera Drama Theatre, and later made a significant contribution with productions at New Riga Theatre. The visual language of her productions has been enriched through creative collaborations with some of Latvia’s most outstanding artists and scenographers – Andris Freibergs, Ilmārs Blumbergs, Aija Zariņa, among others. In 2003 she was awarded the Order of the Three Stars, and in 2020 she received the Spēlmaņu nakts Lifetime Achievement Award.
Exhibition team:
Kristians Fukss (1999) is a new-generation artist, curator, and journalist who curates exhibitions at the gallery ALMA.
Haralds Vecvagars (1969) is a cinematographer and photographer who, together with director Gints Grūbe, travelled the world from 1998 to 2005, interviewing significant contemporaries for the programme Vakara intervija. In his photography, he considers the most important task to be capturing the essence of a person rather than mere visual likeness.
Aleksis Luriņš (1994) is a musician and composer who plays in the group Nesen and co-founded the solo project Ritunsiic, for which he was nominated for the Austras balva (2024, 2025).
Exhibition support:
VV Foundation and Vita Liberte personally
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