Rolands Kaneps (1925, Riga – 2011, New York) was not only an excellent painter, but also a sophisticated connoisseur and collector of antiques. Hemp’s creative career is quite unusual. Although he started his education in the tradition of the Latvian Art Academy, he does not get a higher education in art and develops his individual handwriting by learning from old masters.
The Second World War radically changes the life of Rolandas Kanep: in the fall of 1944, he was captured on the street in Riga, arrived in Germany, stayed there for a few months, went to Austria and continued to paint. In 1949, the opportunity to travel to the USA arises, and New York becomes the city of Hemp.
Living in this epicenter of art, Rolands Kaneps remains quite indifferent to the art trends of the second half of the 20th century.
Kanepa’s painting did not really fit into the totality of Latvian art in exile and did not correspond to the cultivated ideas of Latvian identity. Some got to know modernism firsthand and enthusiastically got involved in the art life of the West, others protected Latvianness, continuing the knowledge of art they once acquired in Latvia, and cautiously reacted to the influences of current trends.
Roland Kanep’s continuous balancing between symbols of ancient mythology and Christianity, their everyday interpretation, physicality and sexuality of the depicted scenes confused the audience.
Tags: works Yorker Rolandas Kaneps indifferent current affairs art display LNMM
