15th International Painting Symposium “Mark Rothko 2019” Culture news
At 4 p.m. on 20 September at Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre, during the opening ceremony of the new exhibition season that celebrates Mark Rothko’s 116th birthday, ten international artists will be greeted to formally open the 15th International Painting Symposium “Mark Rothko 2019”.
By way of a homage to the memory of the world-renowned artist, Mark Rothko, and his artistic legacy, come September, Daugavpils becomes a creative forum for Latvian and international artists who cross borders and continents to spend two weeks in the residency of Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre and create unique artwork, inspired by the atmosphere and cultural environment of Rothko’s childhood city, Daugavpils fortress and Latgale region.
The tradition of the international painting symposium “Mark Rothko” dates back to 2004, when it was organised as a plein air. This year, the symposium is held for the fifteenth time. It aims to raise awareness of the uniqueness of Mark Rothko’s artistic legacy, draw attention to Daugavpils as the artist’s hometown and promote interest in Daugavpils as an artistically stimulating environment as well as continue building the contemporary art collection of Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre.
The international painting symposium, “Mark Rothko 2019”, has brought together ten artists from eight countries: Barbara Rosengarth (Germany), Chongyin Yuan (China), Dustyn Bork (USA), Ieva Lapiņa-Strazdīte (Latvia), James Kendall Higgins (USA), Kuzana Ogg (USA), Linda Kozule (Latvia), Rebecca Bradley (UK/ Ireland), Ritu Aggarwal (India) and Sergey Kryshtapovich (Belarus).
On Mark Rothko’s birthday, at 3 p.m. on 25 September, the participants of the symposium will introduce themselves and their painterly pursuits.
After two packed weeks of intensive creative effort at Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre, the symposium will close at 4 p.m. on 4 October with the opening of a group exhibition by its participants, showcasing the fruits of this fortnight-long painting experience.
Supporters: Daugavpils City Council, State Culture Capital Foundation, Caparol.
