RIGA.- An ambitious exhibition The Art of Imants Lancmanis is on view in the Great Hall of the main building of the Latvian National Museum of Art in Riga.

Although Imants Lancmanis’ oeuvre can be included in the current of contemporary postmodern painting, the artist himself has chosen to describe it as conceptual romanticism. The imagery in his works has been influenced equally by an understanding of the legacy of the Old Masters, nature studies and a lively imagination.

Paintings by Imants Lancmanis, beginning from 1958, are thematically grouped in the Great Hall of the Latvian National Museum of Art (LNMA). Imants Lancmanis graduated from the Painting Department of the Art Academy of Latvia in 1966. Since then artist has developed his individual style embodying in it own world view in all classical genres of painting. Viewers will be able to see several series of paintings – works on the theme of the Bible and the Oak series – for the first time. The exhibition also features portraits, chamber style still-lifes and landscapes.

There was a break in Imants Lancmanis’ work when he was intensively engaged in managing the Rundāle Palace Museum, researching and describing art history evidence, as well as teaching style at the Art Academy of Latvia for 17 years. Special sections of the exposition reveal these facets of the artist’s creative work and show the stages of creating a painting – photographs, sketches, cardboard preliminaries. The title painting of the exhibition is Self-Portrait by the Sēja Oak on 27 September 2019, in which the author – serious, with camera in hand – is in Latvia’s nature, by one of the important symbols of the Latvian people.

The exhibition presents works by Imants Lancmanis from the Latvian National Museum of Art, the future Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art, the Rundāle Palace Museum, Bauska Museum, Art Academy of Latvia, Latvian Artists’ Union, Latvian Academy of Sciences, Latvian Academy of Sciences, the Zuzāns collection, the collection of the patrons Teterev family, from the to be liquidated ABLV Bank art collection and many private collections.

The curator of the exhibition is art scholar Helēna Demakova, the exhibition artist and graphic designer is Ojārs Pētersons, Professor of the Art Academy of Latvia.

A wide programme of events will be provided during the exhibition, including Talks at the Museum, lectures, guided tours, workshops and other creative activities for children, adults and seniors.

Text by Helēna Demakova