The sea has always been one of the most visually compelling and enduring motifs in art – a source of both solace and awe, symbolising the struggle for livelihood, romantic longing, and the overwhelming power of nature.
The exhibition “Sea Stories” brings together works by both classical and contemporary Latvian painters – a selection created by some of Latvia’s leading marine artists, revealing this ever-changing element through a variety of perspectives: from soft, sandy shores to the majesty of the open sea, from the quiet mist of a harbour morning to the drama of a raging storm, from the bustle of the port to the everyday life of fishermen and the rugged figure of the seafarer – a man shaped by wind and salt water.
The sea has spoken to each artist differently, and the selection of works traces the evolution of this theme in Latvian painting over several decades. For many artists, the focus lies on the everyday life of fishermen, the rhythm of the port, and the romance of labour. The sea also becomes a setting for industrial landscapes, where the silhouettes of cranes, ship hulls under repair, and the geometric structures of docks and piers enter the composition. In the work of contemporary painters, by contrast, the sea is explored through a freer, more abstract language of colour and texture, where coastlines and fishing villages are expressed through bold brushwork, at times reduced to fields of colour and simplified forms.
For many Latvian artists, the sea was not merely a subject to depict but a way of life – a direct and personal experience shaped by living in port cities and spending hours at sea under sail. Born in the port city of Ventspils, Jānis Ferdinands Tīdemanis grew up in a maritime environment and, at the age of fourteen, set out to see the world as a cabin boy. This experience shaped not only his adventurous life but also his art, in which port scenes, ships, and the urban coastal landscape occupy a central place. The painters Eduards Kalniņš, Herberts Siliņš, and Aleksandrs Zviedris were likewise passionate sailors. Reflecting on his marine paintings, Zviedris said: “To paint the sea as it truly is, in all its expressions and one's own experience of it, to understand it truly, one must get wet oneself. From the shore, after all, only the waves near the coast are visible – further out they look quite different, and their colour is quite different too.”
List of artists: Valērijs Baida, Boriss Bērziņš, Arvīds Egle, Andis Gūtmanis, Eduards Kalniņš, Nikolajs Krivošeins, Pēteris Kundziņš, Arnolds Pankoks, Jānis Pauļuks, Paulis Postažs, Herberts Siliņš, Kārlis Siliņš, Zigmunds Šnore, Jānis Ferdinands Tīdemanis, Valters Uzticis, Jūlijs Viļumanis, Edgars Vinters, Aleksandrs Zviedris.
