Sculptor Nils Jumītis presents metal works at «Tālumā tuvu» exhibition in Rēzekne

An exhibition by sculptor Nils Jumītis titled «Tālumā tuvu» («Near in the Distance») has opened at the Latgale Embassy «Gors», a cultural venue in Rēzekne, Latvia. It brings together earlier and more recent works in metal, with particular emphasis on pieces created using cast iron casting and explosion technology. The show will be open to visitors until 17 January next year.

From wood to metal

All the exhibited works are made of metal, though they differ in appearance, size and weight. The artist says wood was what first attracted him. A wood sculptor by training, he could not afford carving chisels, so he decided to learn blacksmithing in order to make them himself. Gradually he turned to metalworking and especially took to metal casting, which he taught himself in his youth without any prior knowledge.

Asked how his works come about, the sculptor answers briefly: by experimenting. He cites the large bird figure as an example, created with the explosion method. The use of explosions in art was also part of his doctoral research. Explosive material, in this case black powder, is introduced between joined pieces of metal, and the detonation inflates the sheets into unusual, deformed shapes that define the character of the figure.

The exhibition also includes a work made only a day before the opening: a root produced with the same technology. Moisture and the blast cause it to deform and look entirely different. Jumītis describes himself as the initiator of the process who does not know the outcome and only afterwards decides what to emphasise.

Memories of Latgale

The title symbolically reflects the sculptor's present life in Riga and his warm memories of his grandparents and Latgale. His grandmother came from Latgale, and he remembers her as a person of books. Latgale has always seemed mystical to him.

The exhibition was brought to Rēzekne by art curator Guna Kalnača. In her view, exhibitions should offer variety and contrast: the previous show presented the work of textile artist Egils Rozenbergs, while the current one features a young sculptor. Kalnača was impressed by a series of metal copies of books she saw at the gallery «Māksla XO».

At the opening, visitors highlighted the diversity of materials and forms. Gunārs Klaučs, a teacher at the Latgale Music and Art Secondary School, said the exhibition combines old sculpture traditions with modern technologies and leaves a very good overall impression.