Purvītis Prize 2025 nominees announced!
Indriķis Ģelzis, Romāns Korovins, Ieva Kraule-Kūna, Inga Meldere and Luīze Nežberte, Luīze Rukšāne, Krišs Salmanis, Elza Sīle, Paula Zvane
The independent expert working group (ARTA VĀRPA, Curator of the Latvian Sculpture Collection at the Latvian National Museum of Art; ANTRA PRIEDE, Curator, art historian and Vice-Rector in Study Work at the Art Academy of Latvia; INGA LĀCE, Central and Eastern Europe Fellow at MoMA (New York), curator at the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art; KATRĪNA JAUNUPE, Board member of ‘Mākslai vajag telpu’ (Art Needs Space) Foundation and INGA ŠTEIMANE, the head of the Art Station “Dubulti”, art critic and curator) for the Purvītis Prize has completed its period of evaluating the creative performances of the 24 artists / artist groups who were selected for consideration based on their contribution to Latvia’s visual arts scene from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024.
The finalists who will compete for the 2025 Purvītis Prize are:
INDRIĶIS ĢELZIS / for the solo exhibition WATERY DAY’S EYE at the Kim? Contemporary Art Centre (25.08.–08.10.2023)
ROMĀNS KOROVINS / for the solo exhibition LET’S DIE TOGETHER at the Rothko Museum (01.03.–19.05.2024)
IEVA KRAULE-KŪNA / for the solo exhibition GLUTTON at the 427 Gallery (27.09.–03.11.2024)
INGA MELDERE UN LUĪZE NEŽBERTE / for the duo exhibition SUNPOLES at the Kim? Contemporary Art Centre (21.09.–01.11.2024)
LUĪZE RUKŠĀNE / for the solo exhibition FOLDING LINES at the art space “TUR_telpa” (19.01.–17.02.2024)
KRIŠS SALMANIS / for the solo exhibition BITTER at the Kim? Contemporary Art Centre (05.05.–11.06.2023)
ELZA SĪLE / for the solo exhibition BUNNY’S BANJA / FEAR&TREMBLING at the exhibition hall “Riga Contemporary Art Space” (07.09.–27.10.2024)
PAULA ZVANE / for the solo exhibition INVISIBLE at the LOOK! Gallery (02.–24.02.2024)
In all, the panel of experts have discussed/analysed 62 exhibitions/art events, nominating a total of 24 projects for the prize. Head of the panel of experts Arta Vārpa comments: ‘The following tendencies become obvious considering both the quarterly nominations and the shortlisted eight artists. First, alongside well-established authors, artists representing the younger generation are convincingly making a name for themselves on the Latvian art scene – equipped with international art education and embarking on an international career yet also clearly looking for opportunities to show in Latvia, although frequently unable to access the required resources and art infrastructure for that. Second, there is an increasing tendency for mutual collaboration. Artists (and curators, as well as people representing other areas) create joint projects, interact nonhierarchically and form dialogues with the art of previous generations.
The finalists’ exhibitions stand out with their intense messages, tying their art to acute global issues. Several of the projects are permeated with a sense of global and individual threat; artists also offer strategies for overcoming hard times and apocalyptic scenarios.’
The exhibition featuring the works of the finalists for the award will be on view in the Great Hall of the Latvian National Museum of Art from April 12 untill June 8, 2025. The winner of the Purvītis Prize 2025 will be named on May 23, 2025.
The recipient of the Purvītis Prize will be decided upon by an international jury of seven professionals: Māra Lāce, Director of the Latvian National Museum of Art (LNMA); Jānis Zuzāns, patron of the Purvītis Prize, and Chairman of the Board of SIA ‘Alfor’; René Block, gallerist, curator, co-founder of the Danish exhibition space Kunsthal 44 Møen; Nicolas Bourriau, French curator and art critic, author of The Aesthetics of Relationships, co-founder of Palais de Tokyo, Paris, and co-founder of the art institution Montpellier Contemporain (MoCo); Rhea Dall, Director and Chief Curator of Overgaden - Institute for Contemporary Art, Copenhagen; Marina Fokidis, curator and writer, co-founder of Kunsthalle Athens and the art and culture magazine South as a State of Mind, co-founder of SPARK art fair (Austria); Vita Liberte, art collector, founder of the VV Foundation.
The Purvītis Prize is awarded biennially (since 2007) to an artist or a group of artists representing Latvia who have produced outstanding work that has been deemed to be deeply connected to the developments of the current era and forms a bridge between contemporary life, spiritual ideals, and intrinsic values. The author rated highest by a panel of experts and a special international jury is selected as the winner and is awarded a prize amount of 28 500 EUR (pre-tax).
Title image: Purvītis Prize 2025 graphic identity: Vilhelms Purvītis (1872–1945). Blooming Fields. Circa 1926. Oil on cardboard, 40 x 54,5 cm. Collection of the Latvian National Museum of Art
