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30.05. - 26.06.2018 PAULIS LIEPA "What is this time?"
30.05. - 26.06.2018
Galerija "Māksla XO"
Elizabetes iela 14, Rīga, LV 1010
What is this time?
The aesthetics of Paulis Liepa’s works have evolved from various influences of the modernist graphic culture of the 20th century, design, architecture and engineering blueprints, especially looking back at the visual aesthetics of the 60’s and 70’s, which the artist uses as his language of expression. To amplify this effect of “oldness”, Paulis Liepa exposes his work to direct environmental influences – coagulated layers of glue, cardboard pieces scratched with knife, layers of paint, one over another, creating a sense that the works have come from 60’s or 70’s, have been abandoned and forgotten somewhere and rediscovered today. With subtle irony about graphic artists’ obsession with perfect and aestheticized image, works of Paulis Liepa “overstep” this occupational etiquette.
Paulis Liepa, using seemingly neutral and unpretentious units, reflects on philosophical and current events in a wide range, starting from recent war collision points to simple everyday items and topics, which generally is a diary by the artist as a modern human: studio, home, street, Internet, news, advertisement…
In works of Paulis Liepa, we can distinguish only one subtle sign to a whole collection of signs, which conceptually and in their content are a search for the truth, a battle for spheres of influences, a control over geographical units, depths of the earth from their cross-sections, a cynical, cold calculation, and the humanity as an infinitely complex mechanism, where the war, unfortunately, is an integral part of its existence.
Paulis Liepa (1978) has graduated from the Graphic Department of the Art Academy of (1997-2003). He has arranged 14 solo exhibitions in Latvia, Estonia, Denmark and Russia, and since 1996 has participated in more then 40 group exhibitions and international projects in Latvia and abroad.
He has received prizes – Statutory Award of “International Print Triennial - Krakow 2012”, Krakow, Poland (2012), Grand Prix of 9th Biennial of Graphics of the Baltic Sea Countries “Kaliningrad - Konigsberg 2008”, Kaliningrad, Russia (2008), 1st Prize laureate of 8th Triennial of Graphics of the Baltic Sea Countries “Kaliningrad - Konigsberg 2005”, Kaliningrad, Russia (2005).
The works of Paulis Liepa have been included in public collections – National Art Museum of Latvia (Riga, Latvia), Latvian Contemporary Art Museum Collection (Riga, Latvia), Kaliningrad State Art Gallery (Kaliningrad, Russia).