The pavilion of the 18th architecture exhibition of last year’s Venice Biennale can be seen in Raini’s quarter
The pavilion created for the 18th architecture exhibition of the Venice Biennale – “Shopping Center “Latvija” (TCL) – has been installed in the former spacious production premises in Cēsis, in Raina’s quarter.
“The Cēsis Museum has taken a step beyond the palace, Exhibition Hall and public outdoor space with new contemporary content. The Cēsis Museum is not only a museum of history, but also an art museum. Our task is to introduce the society to contemporary art,” emphasized Ināra Bula, director of the Cēsis Museum, and acknowledged that Cēsis residents, who are no strangers to contemporary art, have the opportunity to see the Latvian pavilion at the architecture biennale, which was widely acclaimed. “If you can hear different opinions, the exhibition has created an impression, emotions, even though contemporary art is no stranger to the people of Česi, because there is always something surprising at the Art Festival,” says I.Bula.
TCL is designed as a reference to a supermarket, an internationally recognized space where the user is invited to familiarize himself with the store’s offer and make a choice. The authors of the exhibition have collected architectural ideas in a witty way, turning them into goods in the store. 506 unique products have been created with the help of artificial intelligence, which are placed on cardboard shelves of modular design. All products are a unique design work. The pavilion is a reminder that architects sometimes produce and give to the public, but the public fails to absorb it or these ideas are simply forgotten.
“A year ago, I saw these premises and received an invitation to set up an exhibition. Why not show TCL in another city? If in Venice it was the shopping center “Latvija” (TCL), now there is an outlet in Cēsis, because no matter how sustainable the cardboard is, some parts suffered on the way, some products were stolen during the biennale. In Venice, the pavilion was arranged in 70 square meters. The space here is much bigger and, just like in Latvia, the space is big, the products are few,” said exhibition curator Uldis Jaunzems-Pētersons.
Jānis Dripe, commissioner of the Biennale exposition creation and realization team, reminded the participants that the TCL pavilion was recognized as one of the best in the competition of 63 national pavilions. Several Italian publications included it in their best works lists. “Artribune” editor Valentina Silvestrini ranked the exhibition of the pavilion in the 4th place among the 10 best pavilions. “Smart? Genius? Ironic?” she starts an article about “T/C Latvija”. Here are the logos of all ten previous architecture biennales, where Latvia has participated. The architectural and design publication “Domus” ranked “T/C Latvija” among the most important pavilions recommended to be visited at this year’s exhibition. The pavilion has been compared to the works of Richard Hamilton and Andy Warhol. Pulitzer Prize winner in architecture, critic Inge Safroni wrote about “T/C Latvija”: “My head was spinning when I tried to translate the salad of complex word combinations, which were pickled with the same phrases. Durability! Decolonization! Partnership! Therefore, hats off to “T/C Latvija” for probably the most interesting exhibition in the entire biennale. Its ‘products’, laid out like a supermarket, include text from every national biennial exhibition of the past decade, whittled down to its essence with the help of artificial intelligence. It’s like a pinprick in this whole ball of hot air.”
“Excellent recognition for Latvia. The Venice Biennales – both art and architecture – are displays of Latvian culture,” emphasized J. Dripe.
In the spacious exhibition space, behind the wall of the supermarket, there is another exhibition – “Skats Apkärt” by Anša Rozenthal, in which the artist portrays landscapes in contemporary art paintings. Among them, the “Kamēr” choir sang both “Gaismapili” and other classical Latvian choir songs. Already last year, there was an idea that a Latvian choir could sing “Gaismaspili” in the pavilion. When, participating in the Venice Biennale for the first time, Latvia presented the “Palace of Light” – the national library, the idea did not materialize, but it did in Cēsis. And when the biennial exhibition was opened in Cēsis Raini’s quarter, this year’s architecture biennale began in Venice. Cesis is not that far from Venice. Will what appealed to Venice appeal to Cesis as well? You have to get to know to tell. You have to think for the idea to unfold. You just have to dare to see.
