Exhibition “Along the Way” opens in Liepāja, on Tirgoņu Street

On Thursday, May 9th, the exhibition “Along the Way” debuted in Liepāja. Until May 23rd, three artists – Sabīne Vernere, Andrejs Lavrinovičs, and Anna Franciska Beļāne – will display their works in the shop windows along Tirgoņu iela, a popular local pedestrian street.

At the ATM space of Swedbank located at 18 Tirgoņu Street, you will find artworks by Anna Franciska Beļāne, titled “Pedestal”, “Someone coming across on a waking night”, and “When lost, go round in a circle”. Through these original and witty installations, the artist reflects on the delicate balance between rest and unrest, groundedness and soaring ideas, encapsulating the complexities of human experience.

In the windows of 22 Tirgoņu Street, you can see Andrejs Lavrinovičs’ artwork “Atlantis”. The original version of it was created in 2016, experimenting with techniques and proposing a basic concept of consumer society and fading pop cultures. This year, the artwork was reduced with AI, creating the collage “Enduring Fear” and a new variation on the Nike vase and L.V. rug created in back 2016.

Sabīne Vernere’s  “Angles morts” (Blind Spot) can be seen in two shop windows – the hairdresser’s at 24 Tirgoņu Street and the shop “MansPirkums” at 21 Tirgoņu Street.  The “Angles morts” paintings reveal a butterfly-like wing motif that freezingly gazes out at the observer. These fragments refer to ancient Greek myth of Medusa, and her paralysing power at the moment of eye contact, revealing to the observer the truth about themselves – reflecting back their horror and exposing their own condemnation. The installation questions the very act of observation, consistent with a societal desire to push the uncomfortable past “out of sight” and out of collective memory. Choosing these works, the artist was trying to pay attention to the non-existence of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Latvia.

The curator of the exhibition is Ieva Rubeze from Liepāja.

Sabīne Vernere (34) is a Head of the experimental art space “Pilot” at the Art Academy of Latvia, and her work delves into the primal unrest and energy found in nature and humanity. A PhD student at the Art Academy of Latvia, also is part of the team behind the outdoor exhibition and event venue "Savvaļa".

Andrejs Lavrinovičs (37) is a teacher at the Rīga Design and Art High School, graphic designer, and publisher with an independent publishing house “Popper Publishing”. He uses his piece "Atlantis" (2016-2024) to reflect on the driving force that motivates us to reach beyond our comfort zones and strive for more, either we call it ‘the carrot’, the ‘motor’ or ‘Greek goddess Nike’s vase’.

Anna Franciska Beļāne (24) is the youngest contributor in the exhibition, a graduating student from the Visual Communication Department of the Art Academy of Latvia. Her witty installations explore the balance between rest and unrest, grounding ourselves while keeping our aspirations high.

The exhibition is organised by the foundation "Liepāja 2027", in collaboration with "Swedbank", "Saldējums Liepāja", "MansPirkums", the hairdresser's salon at 24 Tirgoņu Street and is co-financed by the Liepāja Municipality, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and the European Union programme "Creative Europe" project "CreArt 3.0 #STRINGING_TOGETHER".

‍