04.06. - 11.07.2026

Galerija "Māksla XO"

Elizabetes iela 14, Rīga, LV 1010

ANDRIS KAĻIŅINS

Prussian Blue

““Prussian Blue” is a new series of monochrome paintings in which I continue my long-developed creative position – “Paint as The Protagonist”. The colour is not used merely as a means of artistic expression to create an image, but itself becomes the subject of the work. I look at colour as a material with a specific name, whose physical properties, history of use, and context most often carry references to history, power, politics, and aesthetics.
The work on “Prussian Blue” stems from the previous series of paintings “Prussian Green” (2025), in which the name of the colour and its military-historical associations were brought together with the motif of the Latvian landscape. In this conjunction I was interested in the contrast between a seemingly peaceful, nostalgic image and the historical tension carried by the name.
In “Prussian Blue” this interest continues in a more concentrated and restrained form. The word “Prussian” invites reflection on European history, the aesthetics of military powers, the experience of the Baltic region, and historical traces preserved in language. In this name, different meanings of Prussia collide simultaneously: the extinct Baltic Prussian culture, the later Kingdom of Prussia and its military representation, as well as a contemporary perspective in the context of the Baltic region.
In the English language, which frequently dominates the naming of art materials and their packaging, the words “Prussia” and “Russia” differ by only a single letter. This linguistic proximity became an impulse to think about historical and contemporary geopolitical tension, particularly in the context of the Baltic region and Eastern Europe. In the more recent series of paintings, the word “Prussian” becomes a metaphorical designation for military and political power – one that not only occupies territories, but renames them in its own name. This act of renaming is especially charged in the Baltic context, where place names, language, belonging, and their loss are historical realities.
The colour I examine is chosen not for its tonal qualities, but for its name. The specific name of the colour, its history of use, and its presence in the art materials industry offer the conceptual direction of the series – and I surrender to it. At the same time, Prussian blue captivates me as a painterly material. Its transparency allows for a wide range of surfaces: from light, almost translucent nuances to multi-layered, dark, glossy, and dense surfaces,” – Andris Kaļiņins, 2026.

Andris Kaļiņins’ works reveal a sensitive, living interest in history and the correlation of life’s rhythm with human subjective experience. The narratives of the works are wittily unveiled – and at the same time concealed – in the interplay of words, colour, light, and canvas. (Edd Schouten, exhibition curator and director of the contemporary art space TUR, and laureate of the Latvian Art Annual Award “Curator of the Year”.)

Andris Kaļiņins’ works combine extensive knowledge of art and world history with an interest in the physical properties of colour and the use of artificial intelligence tools, creating works that explore themes of identity and cultural heritage. (Andris Vītoliņš, painter and Vice-Rector of the Art Academy of Latvia.)

Andris Kaļiņins’ solo exhibition “Prussian Blue”, on view at Māksla XO gallery, is part of a more extensive series of works, which can also be seen simultaneously at the 2026 Graduate Exhibition of the Art Academy of Latvia. The graphic character of the paintings allows them to be perceived as colour samples, yet these “samples” are not merely a manifestation of colour itself. They are painterly objects in which the material presence of colour meets the historical and intellectual tension generated by its name.

Andris Kaļiņins (1994) is a painter and set designer who graduated from the Scenography Department (2021) and the Painting Department (2026) of the Art Academy of Latvia. He is the laureate of the “SEB Scholarship in Painting 2025”, receiving both the jury prize and the audience award. His painting practice is grounded in the study of the physical properties of colour and an intuitive process, resulting in conceptual and minimalist yet visually saturated and expressive imagery. The artist regards painting as a process of thinking, inviting the viewer to perceive the essence of colour rather than its illusion.
Andris Kaļiņins has organised 4 solo exhibitions and participated in 5 significant group exhibitions, including “Figure in the Field” – Morgan Lehman Gallery (2024, New York, USA); “In the Name of Desire” – National Museum of Art of Latvia (2024, Riga, Latvia); and “How I’ve Been Feeling Lately” – Pauls Stradiņš Museum of the History of Medicine (2023, Riga, Latvia).
In the field of scenography, he has designed sets and costumes for productions at Latvian National Theatre, Valmiera Theatre, Dailes Theatre, independent theatre companies, and the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space (2019). Alongside this, he has worked as a curator and exhibition designer on art projects – including the exhibition “Collections” at Zuzeum Art Museum (2026, Riga, Latvia) and the art festival “Survival Kit” (2022, Riga, Latvia), organised by the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art.
Andris Kalinins’ works in public collections: the Latvian National Museum of Art (Riga, Latvia), the Balvi Municipality Museum (Balvi, Latvia), the Zuzāns Collection (Zuzeum Art Museum, Riga, Latvia), Signet Bank Art Collection (Riga, Latvia).