2024 09 05 – 09 27, Exhibited at Art Gallery (Respublikos str. 3, Panevėžys)

Opening September 5, 6 p.m.

The key to understanding Silva Linarte (1939–2018), a dedicated artist and educator, lies in her paintings. The laconic, seemingly fragile renditions of landscapes, memory snapshots and abstracted creative messages suggest a nuanced perception, subtle emotional intelligence and consummate professionalism.

Her painting is delicate, sensitive and mysterious, laconic in terms of language yet deep in emotional experience, which shifts between joy and love, sadness and tragedy, and leads to reflection about eternity in nature and one’s immediate surroundings.

She paints with smooth transitions where the subject is at once important and not, while the way it is conveyed remains ever essential. A mysterious and enchanting world, expressed in subtle hints amidst flashes of light and dark witnessed indoors and out in the open.

Linarte’s creative legacy resonates across space and time. Her energy keeps inspiring Latvian artists to this day. Endowed with incredible strength of character, she weathered all the hardships of her era and held on to her dignity even in the most trying times, with unwavering perseverance and focus on uncompromising artistic excellence.

Silva Linarte was born on 26 February 1939 in Līksna Parish (Daugavpils District, Latvia). Her early childhood was spent in a forced settlement in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Siberia, whereto the family had been deported by the Soviet regime. After returning to Latvia, she graduated from Rīga Secondary School of Applied Arts and the Art Academy with double qualifications of art educator and painter. For many years, she taught at Rīga Secondary School of Applied Arts. When Latvia regained independence, Silva Linarte returned to her father’s farmhouse. She continued her teaching career at Daugavpils Secondary School of Arts “Saules skola” and in 1993 also took the post of the city’s Chief Municipal Artist. Throughout the final years of her life, she painted profusely and made her work public in several exhibitions. The Rothko Museum (Daugavpils, Latvia) holds 48 paintings by Linarte in its art collection. Her creative outputs are also represented in several private collections in the United States, Germany, Canada, Bermuda, China, Sweden and Norway.

Zane Melāne