Other events in Baltic States

It has been an intensive and successful year for the Latvian painter Ilgvąrs Zalans: his works were shown at Scope Basel in June, Art Copenhagen in September and, now, in December, at Scope Miami Beach. The works of Zalans will be presented by the art gallery “Bastejs”, based in Riga, Latvia, reports Jekaterina Pogrebnaja.

Scope Miami Beach, the biggest worldwide professional show of modern art, has gathered over 900 million dollars in sales during the last 15 years. In 2015 the organizers of the Scope aim to attract over 45 000 visitors to the historical pavilion on Ocean Drive. All the participants are going through the meticulous selection process – only the works able to attract the attention of the professional collectors and curators will be represented.

For the exhibition Ilgvars Zalans has prepared his latest female portraits from the “Colonial Beauty” series, first presented about a year ago in Riga. “In these works I've tried to combine my understanding of the sensual feminine beauty with the aesthetic tendencies and color combinations that were close to me. I see the success of this series in the balance between realism and abstraction, making the images understandable, yet leaving enough space for the viewer's interpretation”.

Even though the artist has visited about 50 countries in the last 10 years, this is his first time in the U.S.: “It is important for me to exhibit my works for the audience of the professional spectators. It is a challenge, a possibility to evaluate the competitiveness of what I do. The U.S. art market is specially well suited for that – the culture of investing in art objects is very strong here.

Ilgvars Zalans has graduated from the Art Academy of Latvia in 1992. He is known for his color sensitivity and his free yet precise painting manner, as well as his characteristic vision of people and places he shares with the spectator. Personal exhibitions of Zalans are regularly held in Latvia and abroad. His works are created in his studio in Riga as well as in the art residences around the world.