From September 26, the exhibition “A Paintable Existence” by the outstanding Latvian artist and old master of painting Johan (Jānis) Valters can be viewed at the OLA Foundation cultural space. For the first time, the wider public will have the unique opportunity to see more than 90 works created during his Berlin and Dresden periods from the Šmidre family collection.
Jānis Valters’ (1869–1932) artistic career began in Latvia, but it was in Germany that he found his true creative voice, studying the essence of nature and existence in depth through the prism of painting. His desire to perceive nature as a “paintable existence” – die Natur so ansehen als ob sie ein malbares Dasein wäre (in German) –, as he himself described it, became the driving force behind his creative process. Valters’ motto and the exhibition title were inspired by Immanuel Kant’s philosophy and his tireless pursuit of a synthesis of nature and color.
The core of the exhibition is the Šmidre family collection, one of the most comprehensive collections of Valters’ works from his Dresden and Berlin periods, supplemented by several early works created in Latvia. This collection makes it possible to trace variations in Valters’ artistic objectives, from the post-Impressionist decorative style of 1910 to the influences of existentialism at the beginning of the 1930s, when several of the works displayed in the exhibition were reproduced for the first time in a book published in Berlin.
“Art is a unique language. Fortunate are those who understand and are able to perceive it. Artists are special people whom God has given the opportunity to enter this language. The language of Jānis Valters’ paintings, even compared with the classics of his era, is exceptionally vivid and diverse. I am grateful to fate for giving me the opportunity to preserve part of the artist’s unique legacy in his and our Latvia,” emphasizes entrepreneur Pēteris Šmidre.
The exhibition will allow visitors to see how Jānis Valters step by step created a clear and complete world of ideas, which German art critic Kurt Kusenberg described as the ability to stir every sensitive gaze with color as a means of expression and rhythmically flowing compositions that are unusual in German painting. The exhibition will be on view until March 30, 2025.
The exhibition team consists of curator Katrīna Jaunupe, with the support of art historian Kristiāna Ābele. Kristiāna Ābele is also the author of the exhibition texts, offering deeper insight into the artist’s oeuvre and significance in the context of both Latvian and European art. The exhibition design is by artist Kristians Brekte, while the graphic design is by Anete Krūmiņa. The exhibition is organized by Aija and Pēteris Šmidre, OLA Foundation and the “Art Needs Space” Foundation.
The exhibition will take place: from September 26, 2024 to March 30, 2025 Venue: OLA Foundation exhibition hall, Riga
Information support: “Rīgas Viļņi” Publishing House, supported by LG Electronics Latvia. Thanks to TV24 and Pāvilis Raudonis for their support.
Contacts:
OLA Foundation
Phone: +371 29464384
Address: Ogļu iela 12a, Riga, Latvia, LV-1048
www.olafoundation.lv
