On Friday, August 8, at 4:00 PM, the opening of the exhibitions of Jānis Maļeckis and Andris Dzenītis will take place at the theater house “Jūras vārti” – two musicians whose creative lives are also closely connected with visual art will exhibit their works.
In August and September, the theater will be occupied by professional musicians who are also seriously involved in visual arts. The exhibition hall will feature Jānis Maļeckis, a professor at the Latvian Academy of Music and the head of the Chamber Ensemble and Piano Accompaniment Department, “Musical Landscapes,” while the gallery will feature an exhibition of drawings by Andris Dzenītis, a composer and teacher at the Ventspils Secondary School of Music. Since this time musicians will be exhibiting their works, the opening event will be complemented by their performances
Although Andris Dzenītis (1978) has been involved in visual arts and writing throughout his creative life, he considers himself a self-taught enthusiast rather than a professional in these fields. His “Journey” at the “Jūras vārti” theatre house is the third exhibition of the composer’s visual works. Its title reflects both the state of the author’s creative process and the source of inspiration – many of his drawings were inspired by real and imaginary journeys. Dzenītis emphasizes that a journey does not always mean going far; inspiration can also be found in everyday life, even when getting lost in the surroundings of your own home.
Drawing for Andris Dzenītis, like creating music, is a distinctly irrational process. He compares it to entering a home he has never been to, where there is complete freedom to travel in space and time, to create his own world. This philosophy also applies to his drawings in the exhibition “Journey”, which brings together works created from 2019 to 2025. This period marks Dzenītis’ return to drawing after a long break, initially for self-therapeutic purposes. The drawings in the exhibition are made with ink, graphite, charcoal, white pencil and gold paint, using papers of various shades.
Jānis Maļeckis (1957) graduated from the piano department of the Latvian Academy of Music (1981), worked as an assistant at the Chamber Music Faculty of the Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory in St. Petersburg (1985), and is a professor at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music.
Maļeckis began painting as a child, but later developed it under the guidance of professionals. He learned the basics of painting from Edvards Grūbe and Inta Celmiņa, who not only educated the aspiring artist, but also cared about his growth, impressions, and always encouraged him to be professional and demanding of himself. Jānis Maļeckis graduated from the Latvian Academy of Arts in 1994, where he studied under the guidance of Inta Celmiņa and Ivars Heinrihsons. Since 2004, he has been a member of the Latvian Artists’ Union.
After graduating from the Latvian Academy of Arts, he has participated in group exhibitions in Latvia, Belgium, Norway, Finland, Poland and the USA. Among the most significant are solo exhibitions at the Jurmala Art Museum, the Latgale Embassy GORS, the Agija Sūna Gallery, the Culture Palace “Ziemeļblāzma”, the Jelgava Culture House and the Valmiera Museum of Local Lore. Special cooperation has taken place with the gallery “D’Haudrecy” in Belgium.
Jānis Maļeckis’ exhibition “Landscapes of Music” and Andris Dzenītis’ exhibition “Journey” will be on view at the Jūras vārti theater until September 28. The exhibitions are organized by SIA “Kurzemes filharmonija” with the support of the Ventspils City Municipality and the State Cultural Capital Foundation.
Photo and video recording is possible during the event. The obtained materials will be used for advertising and publicity purposes, on the social media accounts of the theater house “Jūras vārti” and SIA “Kurzemes filharmonija”, on the website www.jurasvarti.lv, as well as in other media.
