Opening of Ieva Liepiņa’s Portrait Exhibition “Those Met”

The Sigulda Devons Cultural Centre will host the opening of artist Ieva Liepiņa’s exhibition of recent paintings, “Those Met”. It is a story about the people she has met and, above all, about one emotion experienced when meeting: joy. The exhibition’s overall visual impression is that of a sunny summer day, when people let themselves be carried away by the joy of meeting one another. Each person is portrayed in a different colour palette, primarily in variations of light tones that, through the many skilful layers of oil paint, acquire a delicate translucency.

The works in the exhibition were created recently, and each painting conveys the emotional portrait of a contemporary person. “Those Met” are relatives, friends, friends’ children, classmates and fellow students, acquaintances, as well as people encountered by chance—but above all, artists whom she meets during summer plein-air sessions in Latvia, especially in the dunes of Mazirbe and Ragaciems, as well as in Lithuania, Bulgaria and elsewhere. The brightness of the works, the joy evoked by their colours and the smiling faces of the people affirm the humanity within our souls.

Over more than 30 years, Ieva Liepiņa’s creative work has encompassed a broad range of artistic expression in various genres and techniques, including painting, ceramics, porcelain painting, and the creation of murals both in interiors and on building façades.

Ieva Liepiņa studied at Jānis Rozentāls Riga Art Secondary School (now the Janis Rozentals Art School of the National School of Arts of the Riga Secondary School of Design and Art) from 1979 to 1985, and at the Art Academy of Latvia from 1985 to 1991. She graduated from the Monumental Painting Master Studio under Professor I. Zariņš with her diploma work “Jazz” (canvas, oil, 3 × 4 m, formerly at the Railwaymen’s Cultural Palace in Riga). In 2003, she obtained a master’s degree in painting, and in 2014, a master’s degree in ceramics. She is a member of the Latvian Artists’ Union.

The exhibition at the Sigulda Devons Cultural Centre is open to visitors free of charge from 21 February to 21 March.