Dream-like lanscapes by Paula Zariņa-Zēmane at Draakon Gallery
From February 4 to March 1, 2025 Stories in My Eyes – the solo exhibition by Paula Zariņa-Zēmane will be on view at Draakoni Gallery in Tallinn. The exhibition is curated by Peeter Talvistu.
Paula Zariņa-Zēmane is a Latvian painter whose artworks drift in the dream-like realm between abstraction and half-glimpsed reality. For years, she has sought ways to capture the views and stories that she perceives before her eyes, resulting in ethereal landscapes or “landscape illusions” which convey to the viewers certain emotional experiences. Within these landscapes, elements of presence emerge: a gaze, a touch, something eerily physical, a glimmer from a source of illumination. Yet, these elements remain only suggestions, never solidifying on the canvas, and instead invite the viewer to activate the works through their own interpretation.
Recently, Zariņa-Zēmane has turned towards ceramics to complement her paintings with an additional dose of physicality. The resulting objects echo motifs from the canvases, seemingly affirming the idea that the works on display act as portals to these new realms. However, as the viewer approaches, the glazed surface reflects the viewer as if the teleportation to the world of the artist has finally taken place.
Zariņa-Zēmane adds: “I want to resolve my own thoughts as images. These are visions, which arrive to me as future works of art. In a way, these images act as ‘filters’ through which people can look at the surrounding world through my eyes. I would say that the whole process can be called a form of ‘magical realism’.”
Photos: Anna Mari Liivrand
Paula Zariņa-Zēmane (b. 1988) is a painter from Latvia who graduated from the Art Academy of Latvia (both BA and MA). Her last exhibition “Eyes Open, Closed” ended in January at the ASNI Gallery in Riga. Her previous appearances in Estonia include the 2022 group exhibition “Three of a Kind” at Kogo Gallery, Tartu (curator: Juriaan Benschop) and the 2023 solo exhibition “Possibilities” at the Tartu Art House (curator: Peeter Talvistu).
