“Let’s forest New York” – is the call of the poet of Hell’s Gate, Gunaras Saliņas, back in 1958. Next week, the call will be updated by the cultural festival “Gunars Saliņš. Hell’s Chow”. Today we will also get to know one of this informal group of Latvian writers and artists in exile – the painter Rolandas Kaneps, whose works exhibition “Svētā nopietnība Rolands Kaneps” will be on view at the Latvian National Art Museum.
The narrator of biblical stories and ancient myths – this is what the exiled Latvian artist Rolands Kaneps was in his paintings. In the cycle “Generation” from May 11, the exhibition “Roland Kaneps in Holy Seriousness” can be seen at the Latvian National Art Museum. Roland Kanep’s solo exhibition offers viewers unconventional interpretations of ancient mythology and religious scenes.
The unique art world of Latvian exile painter Rolandas Kanep is little known to Latvian viewers. Although he learned the basics of painting in Riga, the future artist was taken out of Latvia against his will in 1944. After spending a few years in Germany and Austria, in 1949 Kaneps took the opportunity to travel to the USA, and New York became his city. The artist never came to Latvia.
The exhibition would be a great event for the artist Roland Kanepas himself, if only he could experience it, emphasizes the curator of the exhibition Ilze Putniņa.
In 2017, as a bequest, the works of Rolandas Kaneps ended up in Latvia – in the collection of the Latvian National Art Museum and in the collection of the World Latvian Art Center. Four years ago, the World Latvian Art Center in Cēsis organized an exhibition of the works of Roland Kaneps, but now in the exhibition “Svētā nopietnība Rolands Kaneps” the artist’s works can be seen in one place for the first time.
Rolands Kaneps (1925, Riga – 2011, New York) is not only an excellent painter, but also a sophisticated connoisseur and collector of antiques. Hemp’s creative career is extraordinary. Although he started his education in the spirit of the traditions of the Latvian Academy of Arts, 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, there is an opportunity to travel to the USA, 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.
The exhibition “Roland Kaneps in Holy Seriousness” can be seen until August 25 in the halls of the 2nd floor of the main building of the Latvian National Art Museum.
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