Opening of Iveta Laure’s Exhibition Catalogue

On 7 November at 13:00, as part of the accompanying programme for Iveta Laure’s exhibition “Love and Silk” at the Rothko Museum, the exhibition catalogue will be launched, followed by a meeting with the artist. The exhibition “Love and Silk” explores love across a broad spectrum of meanings—from eroticism and romantic relationships to love of life, art and oneself. Personal stories intertwine here with a wider historical and social context. Creative impulses include Aspazija’s uncompromising “NO” and the suffragettes’ struggle for women’s rights; rural life and handicraft traditions in Latvia’s first period of independence; war and deportations; Latgale’s Catholic code; motifs from Eastern cultures and ideas about women and love; as well as everyday sexism, which remains prevalent today. Silk weaves these diverse stories into a single visual language. Its softness and sensuality speak of the body and intimacy, while its durability speaks of the ability to endure through time. Painted, embroidered, folded into three-dimensional objects and installations, silk absorbs both deeply intimate experiences and traces of collective histories. In her essay for the exhibition catalogue, art historian Iliana Veinberga writes: “Iveta Laure’s art, and Iveta Laure as an artist, seem to me to be an expression of this inner freedom. The themes she works with could fit beautifully into the current discourse: feminist art, the objectification of the female body, the intersection of sacred themes and secular life, sex, and so on. But in Iveta Laure’s work, it is something else. It is lived experience—in a woman’s body, in a woman’s role, in society as it is in Latvia in the 20th and 21st centuries, in the culture as it is in Latvia and around the world—with the codes and experiences of various other cultures. It is expressed just as sensually, interactively, fluidly and contradictorily as life itself is lived.” At the event, the artist will discuss works in the exhibition and answer visitors’ questions. The exhibition catalogue will also be available. Admission is free. Iveta Laure’s exhibition “Love and Silk” at the Rothko Museum runs until 29 November 2026. Iveta Laure (b. 1962, Riga) is an artist and art educator, and an active contributor to Latvia’s contemporary culture. She works in installation and environmental art, textiles, painting, collage, photography and video. She regularly takes part in exhibitions, art projects and residencies. Her practice is characterised by a multimedia approach, a socially critical perspective and provocative solutions. Supported by: State Culture Capital Foundation and Daugavpils City Municipality. Publicity image: Iveta Laure at the Rothko Museum (photo: Santa Suhanova).