RETROSPECTIVE
Šis nav Mēness, un es joprojām esmu
This is not the moon, and I am still the same
06.06–29.11.2026
Ripa Gallery
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 6, 16:00
A career-spanning retrospective of Lelde Kalmīte – an important figure in the world of Latvian diaspora art.
Images courtesy Lelde Kalmīte
“It is like when someone points his finger at the moon to show it to someone else. Guided by the finger, that person should see the moon. If he looks at the finger instead and mistakes it for the moon, he loses not only the moon but the finger also.” —The Śūraṅgama Sūtra
This exhibition is a career-spanning retrospective of Lelde Kalmīte – an important figure in the world of Latvian diaspora art. Born in Wurzach, Germany in 1946, Kalmīte initiated the idea of founding the Global Center for Latvian Art (PLMC) and became its long time curator. She is a co-founder of the Global Society for Latvian Art (PLMS), and former president of the American Latvian Artists Association (ALMA). She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in fine arts, and a PhD in art education.
A prolific artist and curator, her paintings and drawings examine nature and our relationship to it through a style that has evolved over six decades—from minimalist geometric abstraction to work that directly addresses the environmental catastrophe that defines our era.
She has served as director of several arts organizations in the United States, and in her last position before moving to Cēsis in 2020 she was the curator of the Bridgeport Art Center in Chicago.
This exhibition traces her life from the home of Latvian artist Jānis Kalmīte, through dozens of group and solo exhibitions, to the creation of PLMC and her relocation to Latvia.
Artist statement
“Most of my work can be described as essentially abstract landscape, with no hint of human presence. Over time, a personal vocabulary of formal elements has evolved in my painting. Straight lines imply distance, while vertical tonal gradations represent time, since we measure time by the passage of days, and whether morning or evening, the sky at the horizon is lighter than that above. The juxtaposition of distant vistas beyond some kind of flat, closer barrier gives the impression of a wall, window or door. Receding vanishing lines, so beloved in Renaissance art, to me symbolize the role of human reason when observing nature, and diagonal lines function as shadows. I have been gradually turning away from minimalism in my painting, to an additive process which is a more difficult process than reducing elements in a minimalist direction.
In recent years, an ominous quality seems to be working its way into my paintings. If creating art is a personal search for meaning, one’s art cannot escape reflecting the spirit of the times. Our own historical period is characterized by ever greater pollution and exploitation of the natural environment – the air, water and soil – resulting in extinction of increasing numbers of plants and animals and threatening the very future of our world.
My imaginary landscapes seem to echo this anxiety about the destruction of the natural world. But, along with the paintings, I also enjoy drawing what I observe in my environment, particularly garden and landscape subjects. Some of these drawings are manipulated digitally to explore variations on the originals. So my artwork is a combination of lugubrious apocalyptic visions on the one hand, and realistic observations of nature on the other. I continue to attempt to resolve these two approaches and bring into my painting some elements of the drawings.”
–LELDE KALMĪTE, 2026