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The First International Ceramics Symposium “LANDescape” Has Ended
September 4, 2013
Marked by a sizable exhibition at the Daugavpils Clay Art Centre and an unforgettable culmination – a sculptural fire show – in the courtyard of the Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre, the first International Ceramics Symposium “LANDescape”, in which 25 artists from all over the world took part, has drawn to a close.
The art of ceramics and Latgale’s metaphorical gold, i.e. clay, are the historical district’s visiting cards. Marked by a sizable exhibition at the Daugavpils Clay Art Centre and an unforgettable culmination – a sculptural fire show – in the courtyard of the Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre, the first International Ceramics Symposium “LANDescape”, which was organised in collaboration with ABLV Charitable Foundation, has drawn to a close. The International Ceramics Symposium took place from 12 - 25 August this year.
Most of the fruits of the artists’ creative work are currently on view at the Daugavpils Clay Art Centre. However, the majesty of ceramic art could be enjoyed in all its glory in the courtyard of the Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre when a clay fire sculpture, almost two metres high, was unveiled in the darkness. Artists from Sweden spent two and a half weeks working on it. “The sculpture is about the meeting between our home and Latvia, the meeting between Sweden and Latvia (..) It’s a crossroads. This is what our sculpture is about; it’s about our meeting,” says Swedish sculptor Johan Hellman.
Vasi Hirdo, Editor of the ceramics magazine “Ceramics Now” was impressed by the sculpture he saw. “I think it’s beautiful. The sculpture reflects arcs and motifs that I’ve seen on the buildings of Daugavpils,” he commented.
Both the symposium’s organisers and participants acknowledge that two weeks of work and the international exchange of experience were very important. In total, in our opinion, the time passed wonderfully, because the programme was really diverse and so were the people,” said Kaspars Geiduks, a participant in the “LANDescape” ceramics symposium.
Valentīns Petjko, organiser of the “LANDescape” ceramics symposium, agreed with him: “Everything went to plan. No event flopped. There were a lot of events and a heavy workload for both organisers and participants (..) Two exhibitions were opened, lectures were given, participants’ presentation evenings were organised, and studios were opened at the Daugavpils Clay Art Centre.”
Even though Latgale is most often associated with traditional ceramic art, the International Ceramics Symposium “LANDescape” has provided the clearest possible evidence that the traditional can be combined with the contemporary and that these directions enrich one another.
Information source: LSM.lv