The new Mark Rothko Centre, Daugavpils. (part two) April 24th - The Opening

Shadows across the City

Mark Rothko was born in Dvinsk (then part of the Russian Empire) in 1903. He moved to the USA when he was ten. After the Russian revolution of 1917, Dvinsk became Daugavpils, the second largest city in the new Latvia.

I woke up to a glorious, panoramic view of the city square, and park beyond. The swirling clouds cast deep blue stripes across the buildings and trees, and I wished I had time to paint this dramatic scene. I went up to the 10th floor restaurant, hoping to find some of the other artists there, but there were no familiar faces. I took full advantage of the huge array of cooked food, and cereals, and drank several cups of coffee. I wrapped some slices of the tasty dark brown Rye bread for lunch later, and tried to work out which roads would take me to the Centre. I was told it would take about 30 minutes to walk there.

I stepped out of the hotel and into strong, icy breezes. It was a lovely walk. The sun illuminated the golds in the long, dead grasses, and gilded skeletal trees. Golds and copper contrasted against the brilliant blue patches of sky. As clouds raced across the sky, I wondered if the day would be spoilt by rain.

The Church behind the Hotel

It was quite a long walk, and I was shivering by the time I reached the old Fortress. The river Daugava was almost level with the surrounding land, and there was some flooding in places.

Flooding near the Fortress

The Rothko Centre is within the walls of the old Fortress. I arrived to find many technicians setting up stages and lighting for the performances, and people running everywhere. One of the organisers remembered me from the Residency, and took me to find Lars Strandh, one of my friends from the Residency. We found the other artists, and also my ex Tutor, Peter Griffin (who had an exhibition of his work in the Centre) and we all went for lunch in the Centre's restaurant. As usual, the soup was brilliant, and we had some chicken wrapped in cheese, and salad.

Left to Right: Kristina, Peter, Dillwyn and Lars

A conference was going on, but we spent the rest of the day looking around the Centre and catching up on our news. Then at about 5pm people began to gather outside the Centre, for the performance and speeches. I stood on the stairs that lead down from the second floor, to get a good view.

The Opening began with a performance of dance during which the dancers painted some stands with bright daubs of colour. 
 

After this, the speeches began. Both Kate Rothko, (below) and Christopher Rothko gave speeches about their father and the Centre. There was a sense that Mark Rothko's paintings had 'come home.'

Then everyone went inside, though there were so many people that security men let us in in small groups. The highlight in the Centre is the Rothko room, which contains 6 original paintings, loaned by his children.

The Mark Rothko Centre

This is me in one of the halls showcasing work by some of the resident artists. Unfortunately my work was not on show, though I was told later by one of the Directors that my large painting will be going to an International Arts Festival in Vietbsk, Belarus, in the summer

There was a wonderful buffet meal in the restaurant - but I was so busy taking photographs, and chatting, that by the time I went to the table, a few bread rolls remained! I met Kate Rothko, her friends, and several gallery Directors and Curators.

From left to Right: Lars, me, Marion, Rene.

At about 8pm, a friend called me outside to see the concert, which was fantastic - a Finnish accordian player - and the Centre was beautifully spotlit all around

It was a great evening, and I walked back to the city centre with Lars and two of the Committee members, under a full moon, near 11.30pm

The Moon over the Centre

(click on images for larger view)

Watching and Waiting

'Watching and Waiting,' oil and acrylic on canvas, 60 x 45cm

In 48 hours I'll be in Latvia, on the bus travelling to Daugavpils. It takes about three and a half hours so I expect to arrive around 10pm, and then the next day, Wednesday 24th April, I'll be attending the Grand Opening of the New Mark Rothko Centre. I'm very excited, as there are already a number of exhibitions in the Centre, and I'm hoping to see my own paintings in the Centre, along with work by the other residents (and to post photos on my return). As yet, I'm only certain that two of the other residents will be there. I will miss the group a lot but it will be lovely to see the Committee members, Farida and Maris again.

I'm back on Friday evening, and then it's back to work! I finished 3 canvases this week, one is being 'considered' for further changes, and I began a new canvas called 'Paphos Walkway,' a vertical format which has thrown up some entirely new elements and imagery, so something exciting to return to. I've also been drawing like crazy, and have numerous spontaneously calligraphic compostions to evolve.

It's been a busy time. I delivered my painting to the Royal Academy on April 11th. It was the first time I didn't have to queue, and I was there in total for around 15 minutes! I'd spent ages the previous day neatening the edges of my painting, as it sits in a black 'box' frame, and hope that the painting may catch their attention. At the same time, I was anxiously waiting to hear if my submission for the Painting Center (New York) had arrived intact. I was really pleased to hear last week that the CD, application form, and payment reached the Center.

'After the Long Hard Winter, it was Time for a Picnic,' (3) oil and acrylic on canvas, 60 x 45cm

A Mixed Bag!

(Nicosia Evening with Church Spires, oil on board, 122 x 61cm)

I'm adding a very bright painting, to try to banish my winter blues! January is always my worst month, and I'm telling myself that now we are into February, it won't be long until until the first signs of Spring. As I am spiritually still in Nicosia, this seemed the best painting to post today.

I'm just recovering from the worst Flu I have ever had. It was probably caused by the 5 hour arctic wait at Gatwick airport on my return from Cyprus, but I get incredibly frustrated when I can't paint. Finally I am out of bed, my new stretchers arrived, and I can stretch my canvas and start work again. All kinds of colourful threads, landscape imagery, and cityscapes (washing blowing in the breezes) are fermenting in my mind, and I feel that this new work may be a step towards something different.

My bad news was that I didn't get the Cove Park residency. The rejection email was very nice, as she explained that 280 artists applied, and only 4 residencies were available. Again, it depends if your work fits what they want, and previous participants seemed to be quite experimental. She said they had liked my work a lot, which was nice as they don't usually bother to make any comments, and I can always try again next year. The email even thanked me for doing the very lengthy (and technical) digital application. I am very disappointed as the landscape setting was ideal for me, and I could see myself making huge developments if I'd had a month there to explore my ideas quietly, away from my daily constant distractions. I long for at least a month of uninterrupted work! I'm still waiting to hear about my other two residency applications, but hope is fading. It's become obvious that when you first spot the email reply in the long list of daily emails, if it doesn't have an attachment, then it's likely the answer is negative!

This week I also heard that the Mark Rothko Centre at Daugavpils, Latvia (where I did my residency in September), is going to open in April. When we were there, we had a tour around the enormous, golden building, still full of builders and wires, and smelling of new plaster. It will be a big Opening, and I am considering going. I also heard via Facebook that our work is now in the Mark Rothko Centre - GREAT NEWS! One of my ex tutors from Art School is exhibiting at the Centre in April, and will also be at the opening. I really want to go, but my main hesitations are that it is a long journey from Riga airport to Daugavpils, it will be a lot of expense for 3 days, and it doesn't seem as if many of my fellow resident artists are going.