From July 16 of this year, the solo exhibition of artist Ieva Ekmanes-Bites "Atspulgs" will be on view in the Intro hall of the exhibition hall "Riga Art Space". It will be available to visitors until August 21.

The exhibition " Atspulgs " is the most personal and open exhibition of the artist Ieva Ekmanes-Bite, which tells about her relationship with God. The intended personal exhibition consists of series of artworks within different technical solutions - they are artworks on canvas with a subframe, ink blots and video projection. In terms of content, they will be abstract landscapes, fixations of feelings, which herald an encounter with an invisible but clearly felt His presence. It will not be a story about the church, it will be inward conversations in the woods, visual dialogues on the seashore, the breath that can be seen in the calm dawn on a quiet river bank, these will be scenes with limitless spaces where you can feel liberation and trust that there will be a sholder to lean on. In these times of unrest, when the world has been shaken by tragedies, there is no greater urgency than to create a certain island of peace with the help of art, where the artist himself can take refuge and allow the viewer to enter this zone of peace as well.

“Somewhere between the disappearing horizon and the coolness of the summer rain, I found that place, that space where I wanted to build a house, plant a tree that reaches up to the sky, and take a bite of the pie of love, so that the taste in my mouth will carry me through this life. This place is called – Your proximity.

Your closeness is where all the scarred, scratchy and ugly shells peel off. It is a place where healing love washes and purifies. It is a place where only the slanting, soft evening shadows fall. It is a place where, without realizing it, you move from the head to the heart and put on the eyes of eternity. It is a place where giants become small and nothing scares  anymore. Your closeness is like coming home after a long and tiring peregrination. Peace is gained.”

Curator of the exhibition: Santa Matule

Text: Ieva Ekmane-Bite

In 2014, Ieva Ekmane-Bite obtained a master's degree from the Latvian Academy of Arts, studied glass art in the Czech Republic, at Tomas Bata University, in the studio of Petr Stanicky.

In the fall of 2014, she represented Latvia at the international glass art exhibition in Prague. Since 2015, she has created several personal exhibitions - "Horizonti" in the exhibition hall of the Kalnciema quarter, "Svētdiena elpo" in the Culture Palace "Ziemeļblāzma", in 2016 "Augšup" in the house of the Latvian Society of Liepāja and in 2017 "Es kā tu" in the exhibition hall "Riga Arts Space".

The exhibition is organized by the exhibition hall "Riga Art Space" of the association of cultural institutions of Riga Municipality and is supported by the Riga City Council and the State Culture Capital Fund.