Latvian-American artist from New York explores family memory in Kuldīga residency
New York-based artist Ernest Sabine, of Latvian descent, spent almost a month at the Studija art space residency in Kuldīga, Latvia. His project Between Two Breaths uses black-and-white paintings, photographs and an installation to explore family history and memories passed down through generations.
Ernest Sabine, an artist of Latvian descent from New York, has spent almost a month this month working at the residency of the Studija art space in Kuldīga, a town in western Latvia. The residency is run by artist Maija Rudovska. During his stay he developed the project Between Two Breaths, which combines paintings, photographs and an installation. The works draw on family memories and his mother's stories about Latvia.
Sabine was born and raised in the United States. His mother is Latvian and his father American, and he learned Latvian by attending Sunday school as a child. He has visited Latvia six or seven times, but this was his first time in Kuldīga. A friend who had lived in Latvia told him about the residency. The artist says New York is always hectic, while Kuldīga is calm, which allowed him to try new things and follow the creative process.
Inspiration from a grandfather's photograph
The project is rooted in a black-and-white photograph taken by the artist's grandfather during the Second World War, before the family fled as refugees. It shows a birch grove in Bērzaune reflected in the waters of Lake Brencēni, near Madona. The family travelled through Germany and ended up in the United States, in a displaced persons camp. When Sabine first came to Latvia at the age of 22, he and relatives found the place by walking through forest and marshy terrain.
The photograph inspired an abstract painting. The works made during the residency are black and white, although he usually paints in bright colours. He plans to return to colour in later works. The exhibition also includes photographs from a trip to Pāvilosta.
Jars of memories
The installation places jars filled with rolled strips of linen on a platform covered with white linen. It is tied to a childhood memory of a room in the family's basement that held preserves, 50–60 years old, kept from his grandmother.
From fashion to art
Before painting, Sabine worked in fashion in New York: he created the menswear brand Ernest Alexander and developed visual identities and advertising campaigns for other brands. He plans to print photographs taken in Kurzeme on silk and treat them with ink to create a creased texture. He has already tried this technique in works shown at the residency.
