Solo exhibition of Ieva Ekmane-Bite “Reflection”

From 16 July, the solo exhibition "Reflection" by artist Ieva Ekmane-Bite is on view in the Intro Hall of the Riga Art Space. It will be open for visitors until 21 August.

“Reflection” is the most personal and open exhibition of the artist Ieva Ekmane-Bite, which tells the story of her relationship with God. The intended solo exhibition consists of a series of technically different artworks - works on canvas with underframe, ink marbling and video projection. In terms of content, they are abstract landscapes created by the artist as recordings of sensations that speak of an encounter with His invisible but clearly felt presence. It will not be a story about the church, it will be inward-looking conversations in the forest, visual dialogues by the seashore, the visible breath at dawn on a serene riverside, scenes with borderless spaces where one feels liberation, trust and confidence. In these times of turmoil, when the world is shaken by tragedies, there is no greater urgency than to create a kind of island of peace through art, where the artist themselves can take refuge and the viewer can also enter this zone of peace.

“Somewhere between the disappearing horizon and the breeze of the summer rain, I found that place, that space where I wanted to build a house, plant a tree that takes root to the sky and take a bite of the pie of love so that the taste of it in my mouth would carry me through this life. This place is called- Your presence. 

Your presence is where all the scarred, scratchy and ugly shells are peeled away. It is a place where healing love washes and cleanses. It is a place where only the slanting, soft shadows of evening fall. It is a place where, unnoticed by oneself, one moves from the head to the heart and puts on the eyes of eternity. It is a place where giants become small and nothing scares anymore.

Your presence is like coming home after a long and tiring journey. Peace is obtained.”

Exhibition curator: Santa Matule

Text: Ieva Ekmane-Bite

Ieva Ekmane-Bite received her MA degree from the Art Academy of Latvia in 2014 and studied glass art in the Czech Republic at the Tomas Bata University in the studio of Petr Stanitsky.
In autumn 2014 she represented Latvia at an international glass art exhibition in Prague. Since 2015 she has had several solo exhibitions - “Horizons” at Kalnciema Quarter Exhibition Hall, “Sunday Breathes” at the Culture Palace “Ziemeļblāzma”, in 2016 “Upwards” at Liepāja Latvian Society House and in 2017 “Me as You” at Riga Art Space Exhibition Hall.

The exhibition is organized by the Association of Culture Institutions of Riga City Council and the exhibition hall “Riga Art Space” with the support of the Riga City Council and the State Culture Capital Foundation.