An exhibition dedicated to faience products and artists from the collection of the Riga Porcelain Museum will take place in Kuldiga. The exhibition "Faience" will be on view in the Old Town Hall of Kuldiga from March 20 to May 20, 2024.
The aim of the exhibition is to promote knowledge and understanding of faience produced in Riga, the specifics of faience as a material, to introduce the history of production, the artists of that time and the artistic possibilities of faience as a material. For many artists, faience - seemingly a lesser matterial than porcelain – provided inspiration and opportunities for new, exciting experiments, which the viewer will be able to discover in the exhibition in Kuldiga.
Faience production in Latvia has a long history. In fact, it is longer than for porcelain, because making objects from faience is less resource-intensive than from high-quality porcelain. Therefore, in the early periods of operation of historical factories, faience, semi-faience and semi-porcelain products were produced first, and only upon reaching a certain capacity, the industry also turned to pure porcelain.
Compared to porcelain, faience is a less durable material. Since it contains limestone and dolomite instead of feldspar, its grain (the wall of the product) is more porous and reacts more sensitively to the environment, i.e., fluctuations in humidity and temperature, various substances, microorganisms and particles. In Riga's production plants, faience was glazed in the same way as porcelain, i.e., with glass glaze, therefore the tension between grain and glaze and the difference between expansion and contraction ensured that microfracture web or "glaze net" characteristic of faience was formed on the surfaces of the dish.
Given the nature of faience as a material, common household items were most often made from it, including hygiene items, dishes for household kitchens and pubs, serving dishes, souvenirs and beauty products for customers of modest means.
The beginnings of both faience and porcelain production in Latvia can be traced back to the 19th century. However, large-scale industrial production of faience ended considerably earlier than for porcelain. Namely, in the 1960s, during the Soviet occupation, due to restructuring and optimisation of the planned economy, faience production was liquidated at the Riga Porcelain and Faience Plant. Consequently, the plant was renamed the Riga Porcelain Factory. It specialized exclusively in porcelain and thin-walled porcelain, while the production of faience was delegated to historically specialized production facilities in other republics of the Soviet Union.
In the decade before the fate of the faience industry was sealed, there was a wonderful, experimental boom as the Riga factory’s artistic resource were purposefully invested in developing new forms, new designs and décor styles, affirming the plant's ability to create contemporary works in this unprofitable material. The creative CV of almost every artist who worked on the design of forms at the Riga Porcelain and Faience Factory in the late 1950s and 1960s includes a "faience episode.” Also, the authors of décors developed solutions for the aesthetic design of faience dishes. Some artists felt at home with this material and created a slew of both standard and unique designs, while for others it was a passing phase, just a few works executed as part of a work plan. Also, as part of the curriculum at the State Academy of Arts (now the Latvian Academy of Arts), future specialists for the cultural industry learned skills in working with faience.
Faience production in Latvia ended more than half a century ago. However, this selection from the collection of the Riga Porcelain Museum offers a glimpse into the authors and works of its final period. Services and sets of dishes, serving plates, vases, pitchers, as well as small sculptures and souvenirs demonstrate the creative range of industrial artists and authors sporadically connected to industry, such as Zina Ulste (1928–2006), Anastasija Zumente (1928–2002), Ilona Priedkalne (1933–2012), Valdis de Būrs (1937–2002), Aina Mellupe (1925–1998), Taisija Poluikeviča (1937–2002), Levons Agadžanjans (1940–1999), Tamāra Meija-Bukovska (1913–1988), Mirdza Jurča (1921–2001), Ēriks Ellers (1924–1994), Sarmīte Munde (dz. 1943) and Helga Ingeborga Melnbārde (1944–2022).
The exhibition "Faience" reveals a unique cultural heritage that enables us to better understand the artists of the mid- to late 20th century, their creative styles, the characteristic aesthetics of that era and the principles of operation of the porcelain industry. The exhibition encourages us to imagine what could have been and perhaps serve as a source of inspiration for the contemporary viewer.
The exhibition "Faience" is on view in the Old Town Hall of Kuldiga on weekdays from. 9:00 to 17:00 from March 20 to April 26, and also on Saturdays and Sundays from 10.00 to 15.00 from April 27 to May 20. Admission is free.
The exhibition is organized by the Riga Porcelain Museum of the Association of Cultural Institutions of the Riga State City Municipality in cooperation with the Kuldiga Municipal Agency "Kuldiga Cultural Centre".
Photo: Vases. By Sarmīte Munde. RPM Collection Photo: Gvido Kajons