Siljas Pogules tekstilgleznas “Modulāro saldumu kolekcija” Livonijas ordeņa pilī (Jāņa ielā 17) no 15. decembra .
The Ventspils Museum in the Castle of the Livonian Order has become not only warm but also sweet, with a delicate touch of cranberry irony, given that the solo exhibition “Collection of Modular Sweets” by the artist Silja Pogule is now on display in the castle gallery on all three floors.
The “Collection of Modular Sweets” includes decorative textile paintings, which can be combined as modules into a larger forms. However, each module composition contains structures that reoccur as abstract, deformed circles, dynamic swirls, or stylized nature motifs – something scenic and figurative is also found in Silja Pogule’s tuftings. These modules have not only crazy colour combinations, but also no less intriguing titles, for instance, “Vanilla Sky” or “Cranberry Macaroons”.
Silja Pogule (1970) graduated from the Art Academy of Latvia with master’s degree in painting (1996). Before that, she studied textile art at the Tallinn University of Arts (1989–1991) and Riga Secondary School of Design and Arts (1985–1989). Since 1999, she has been working as graphic designer. She has organised a total of seven solo exhibitions, including “Warp Tool” in the gallery “M Māksla” in Riga (2019), “Happiness” in the gallery “Mākslas banka” in Riga (2015), “Pose-Opose” in the club “Slepenais eksperiments” in Riga (1997), and others. She has also been a member of the group of artists “Kokons” and has participated in the exhibition “Silent Waters” in the Ģ. Eliass Jelgava Museum of History and Art (2016). Forming part of the conceptual art group “LN Sieviešu līgas projekts” (Silja Pogule, Ingrīda Zābere, Izolde Cēsniece, Kristīne Keire, Ilze Breidaka, curator Inga Šteimane), she has participated in twelve projects, including the performance “Outcomes of Conversations” in the Art Museum Riga Bourse (1999). With a series of photographs entitled “Hearts” (1997), she has participated in international contemporary art exhibitions focused on the art of Eastern Europe, organised by the curator Bojana Pejić, such as “After the Wall” in the Modern Art Museum in Stockholm (1999), “Gender Check. Femininity and Masculinity in the Art of Eastern Europe” in Vienna, in the Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation (MUMOK), and in the Zachęta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw (2009–2010).
The exhibition “Collection of Modular Sweets” will be on display until mid-February, while the meetings with the author will take place as of January 2023. Ventspils Museum.
