EUROPEAN SPACE: 9th Sculpture Quadrennial Riga 2004
04 June – 25 July 2004
www.sculpturequadrennial.lv
Curators: Aigars Bikse, Kristaps Gulbis
Exhibition EUROPEAN SPACE – State Museum of Art Exhibition hall Arsenals, Latvian Railway History Museum, public spaces in Riga’s downtown core
EUROPEAN SPACE – Sculpture Quadrennial Riga 2004 is the International Sculpture Quadrennial based in Riga, Latvia, which has a tradition of more than 30 years.
During the Soviet era, sculpture, painting, graphic art as well as other joint art exhibitions were held on a regular basis in the capitals of the Baltic republics Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn. Vilnius (Lithuania) established a tradition of Painting Triennials, Tallinn (Estonia) became an important city for Graphic Biennials, while Riga (Latvia) claimed the domain of Sculpture. Riga’s Sculpture Quadrennials started in 1972. These regular exhibitions provided an excellent forum for creating contact between artists and discussing various professional issues.
EUROPEAN SPACE – Sculpture Quadrennial Riga 2004 focuses on geopolitical spatial changes in Europe, choosing two of the most important political events in post-war European history as points of departure – the Schumann Declaration, which was signed May 9, 1950 (now celebrated as European Day), and May 1, 2004, when the first Eastern European countries joined the European Union.
Accordingly, in addition to contemporary art that has been created over the past four years, the exhibition will represent sculptural works that are important in a 1950s context. This will also provide an opportunity to see whether there are correlative differences between 1950′s sculpture that was created on opposite sides of the iron curtain, for example, between Poland and Portugal. In addition, we will be able to judge whether the art of 2004 has become just as homogeneous as the common politico-economic union. EUROPEAN SPACE will allow us to observe the effect of time on Europe and its art.
The criteria with which we selected the artists participating EUROPEAN SPACE is an important component of the exhibition’s concept. We founded a network of partnership with organisations throughout Europe and are represented by them in each participating country. The curators chose artists based on recommendations from these institutions.
A similar approach was used in selecting art from the 1950s. The sculpture that will be represented was acknowledged in its time. Our goal is to ensure that the exhibition will represent a balance between that which is presently perceived as contemporary sculpture as well as work, which was held in high esteem during the 1950s. Large-format photographs (5mx3m) of sculptures from the 1950s will be exhibited at various outdoor locations in Riga. They will be annotated, thereby explaining why the sculpture is being shown in Riga and why the specific work was chosen to represent its country of origin in the quadrennial.
In summary, the exhibition will showcase work from 25 European countries, presenting important sculptural work from 1950s alongside contemporary work created over the past four years.
EUROPEAN SPACE – Sculpture Quadrennial Riga 2004 is a European-scale event that focuses on sculpture and reflects the present-day state of contemporary art in Europe.
EUROPEAN SPACE – Sculpture Quadrennial Riga 2004 reflects fundamental changes in a political arena and a transformation of cultural space that creates new possibilities for dialogue among artists, curators, visual arts professionals and the public.
EUROPEAN SPACE – Sculpture Quadrennial Riga 2004 promotes the integration of the former East European visual arts scene into the existing art practices of contemporary Europe without losing its national or regional diversity.
EUROPEAN SPACE – Sculpture Quadrennial Riga 2004 facilitates a network of visual artists and organisations through their participation in the project giving rise to future cultural projects based on the precedent of EUROPEAN SPACE.
Participating artists:
Magdalena Abakanowicz, Poland
Heather Ackroyd & Dan Harvey, UK
Leonor Antunes, Portugal
BankMalbekRau (Lone Bank, Christina Malbek, Tanja Rau) Denmark
Richard Fauguet, France
Jean-Damien Fleury, Switzerland
FOS (Thomas Poulsen), Denmark
Gints Gabrans, Latvia
Jon Gundersen, Norway
Charlotte Gyllenhammar, Sweden
Siobhan Hapaska, UK
Roza El-Hassan, Hungary
Helgi Hjaltalin, Iceland
Hans van Houwelingen, The Netherlands
Peter Jecza, Romania
Marek Kijewski / Kocur, Poland
Rudolf Kocsis, Romania
Franticek Klossner, Switzerland
Axel Lieber, Germany
Little Warsaw (Balint Havas and Andras Galik), Hungary
DeAnna Maganias, Greece
Niamh O’Malley, Ireland
Giuseppe Maraniello, Italy
Petras Mazuras, Lithuania
Maria Miesenberger, Sweden
Mindaugas Navakas, Lithuania
Dalibor Nikolic, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Carlos Nogueira, Portugal
Juri Ojaver, Estonia
OLO (Pasi Karjula and Marko Vuokola), Finland
Glebs Pantelejevs, Latvia
Jose Alvaro Perdices, Spain
El Perro (Ramon Mateos, Ivan Lopez, Pablo Espana), Spain
Nadine Rennert, Germany
Paul and Anne Daniela Rodgers, Estonia
Erik Samakh, France
Tulay Schakir, Finland
Dan Shipsides, Ireland
Frantisek Skala, The Czech Republic
Mustafa Skopljak, Bosnia-Herzegovina
S&P Stanikas, Lithuania
Nunzio di Stefano, Italy
Hanne Tyrmi, Norway
Ekke Vali, Estonia
Solveiga Vasiljeva, Latvia
Kostis Velonis, Greece
Vlasta Zanic, Croatia
Gorki Zuvela, Croatia
XYZ (Matej Gavula, Milan Titel), Slovakia
EUROPEAN SPACE – Sculpture Quadrennial Riga 2004 is curated by artists Aigars Bikse and Kristaps Gulbis
Artist Kristaps Gulbis Born in Riga in 1967. Graduated from Tallinn Art University, Department of Sculpture in 1991. Works in sculpture, sound installation and site-specific objects. Has participated in numerous contemporary art projects and exhibitions in more than 15 countries including the USA, UK, Italy, Spain, South Korea, Germany, Russia, Austria and Ireland. The artist has received grants from UNESCO-ASCHBERG (Paris) and ARTSLINK (New York). The recent work of Kristaps Gulbis I might Like You Very Much was exhibited in Sapporo at Hokkaido Modern Art Museum (Japan) in April, 2004.
Artist Aigars Bikse Born in Riga in 1969. Graduated from the Art Academy of Latvia, Department of Sculpture in 1993. Works in sculpture, installation, stage design and design projects. The artist has designed the Latvian pavilions at EXPO1998 in Lisbon (Portugal) and EXPO 2000 in Hanover (Germany). The artist has participated in workshops in Denmark, UK, Germany, France, Estonia, Norway and others. Since 1998 Aigars Bikse has been a board member of the Latvian Union of Artists; since 2001 he is Head of the Faculty of Visual and Plastic Art at The Art Academy of Latvia, and since 2003 the Associated Professor of Art Academy of Latvia.
Parallel events:
Conference COLONIZED SPACE (moderator Anders Kreuger, Sweden)
Stockholm School of Economics in Riga
June 5 – 6, 2004
Seminars DIVERGENT REALITIES I, II, III, IV, V
Vilnius, Lithuania – March 26, 2004;
Helsinki, Finland – April 24, 2004;
Tallinn, Estonia – April 25, 2004;
London, UK – May 10, 2004;
Stockholm, Sweden – May 24, 2004
International workshop N SPACE – Art Academy of Latvia, June 3, 2004
Exhibition Re:Baltic – Nishi Masaaki, Grand Prix of the International Sculpture Quadrennial Riga 2000
The Latvian Artists Union Gallery June 2 – 26, 2004
Concerts SOUND OF SPACE
Vocal group “Cosmos”, State Museum of Art Exhibition hall Arsenals, June 17, 2004
Chamber orchestra string quartet “Rigas Kamermuziki”,
Latvian Railway History Museum, July 8, 2004
Discussion forum DIVEREGENT REALITIES WWW
International partners of the project are:
Art Exchanges, Ireland;
The Association of Finnish Sculptors, Finland;
Association of Norwegian Sculptors, Norway;
British Council, UK;
Centre Culturel Francais, France;
The Centre of Polish Sculpture, Poland;
Contemporary Art Information Center of the State Art Museum (CAIC), Lithuania;
Deste Foundation, Centre for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece;
Doma/A Casa/At Home Independent Art Project, Croatia;
Estonian Sculptors’ Union, Estonia;
The Foundation and Center of Contemporary Art – Prague (FCCA), Czech Republic;
IGBK (Internationale Gesellschaft der Bildenden Kunste) Berlin, Germany;
Ludwig Museum Budapest – Museum of Contemporary Art, Hungary;
MACRO – Museo D’Arte Contemporanea Roma, Italy;
Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores Agencia Espanola de Cooperacion Internacional, Spain;
Riksutstallningar, Sweden;
Sculptors’ Society of Ireland, Ireland;
Slovakian Centre for Contemporary Arts, Slovakia;
Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki, Finland;
Estonian Art Academy, Estonia;
Vilnius Academy of Fine Art, Lithuania;
Visarte, Switzerland
National partners of the project are:
The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia;
Riga City Council Culture Department;
The Danish Cultural Institute in Riga;
The State Museum of Art, Exhibition hall “Arsenals”;
The Latvian Railway History Museum;
Information Office of Nordic Council of Ministers in Riga;
The Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia (CCF);
Latvian Artists Union;
Art Academy of Latvia;
The New Media Culture Centre RIXC.
Organizers:
The Centre for Art Management and information – MMIC
Co-organizers:
TheAssociationof Finnish Sculptors, Finland
/British Council, UK
Contemporary Art Information Center of the State Art Museum (CAIC), Lithuania
Estonian Sculptors’ Union, Estonia
Riksutstallningar, Sweden
Supporters:
Culture 2000, The Ministry of Culture of Republic of Latvia, Culture Capital Foundation, Riga City Council, K-Rauta, AFAA, British Council, Nord Cultural Fund, Information Office of Nordic Council of Ministers, French Culture Centre, Danish Culture Centre, Ministry of Culture of Portugal, Institute of Art, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Luso – American Foundation, Lithuanian Ministry of Culture, Embassy of Lithuania, Pro Helvetia, Sapnu Sala, Air Baltic, Latnet, BTA, ACB, SSE Riga.
Additional information
EUROPEAN SPACE – Sculpture Quadrennial Riga 2004
Centre for Art Management and Information (MMIC)
Kalpaka bulv. 13, room 15,
Riga, LV 1867, Latvia
Phone/fax: +371-7322196
e-mail: es@sculpturequadriennal.lv www.sculpturequadrennial.lv
For more information look at www.sculpturequadrennial.lv
For general information about Riga, the In Your Pocket city guide can be recommended. Look at: www.inyourpocket.com/latvia/riga/en
