An exhibition titled "Neitrālā zona" (Neutral Zone) has opened in the experimental art space PILOT of the Art Academy of Latvia to mark the centenary of the Ceramic Department.

The exhibition features works by both experienced, professional ceramic artists and lecturers of the department, as well as works by future artists in ceramics. In total, the exhibition includes 19 artists, making it the largest number of artists exhibited simultaneously in the gallery.

The "Neitrālā zona" exhibition, located in the heart of Old Riga, creates an imagined airport transit zone, playing with both the gallery's name and giving the works of artists a new potential meaning. The diagnostic of the ceramic medium against the neutral background of the airport or gallery space becomes a map characterizing its time and place, while each work serves as an individual boarding pass or ticket to access it. Striving to feel the boundaries between art and craftsmanship, tradition and the new, the artist's vision and technology, the exhibition reveals ceramics as an active interaction or transit zone, as tactile as it is imagined. "When the airplane rises higher and flies faster, its meaning as an object changes – one could even say it changes to the opposite. [...] Our concept of flight gradually loses its significance as speed through space forms a new meaning, based on time as a moment." (R. Smitsons, "Preparing a Place for the Airport", 1967)

As part of the public program of the exhibition, a public discussion is planned – a dialogue between ceramists Ingūna Skuja and Melissa Braden (Skuja Braden) and students of the department about the relevance of the medium in the Latvian and international art scene.

Exhibition Dates:

April 4 – May 25, 2024.
The art space is open from Tuesday to Sunday (12:00-18:00), free entry.
Address: Riharda Vāgnera iela 3, Old Riga.

Creative Team of the Exhibition:
Curators: Elza Elīza Ilješāne and Elīza Brice
Set Designer: Andris Kaļiņins
Exhibition Producer and Visual Identity Author: Sabīne Vernere

Artists: Ainārs Rimicāns, Anita Ance Bruņeniece, Anna Rubene-Zīdere, Beāte Ločmele, Beatrise Grudule, Dainis Lesiņš, Dainis Pundurs, Diāna Drozdecka, Elīza Jaunzeme, Jevgeņija Loginova, Katrīna Ķepule, Keita Melle, Kunti Horsta, Līga Bufale-Vētra, Līga Skariņa, Marta Krista Jirgensone, Marta Prēdele, Pavla Tokare, Sanita Čevere.

The exhibition is supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation.