Sacred abstraction

Location: Main building / Floor 2 / Second floor hall

The idea of diffusion of different religions and cultures, different types of art underlies the creative method of the Latvian artist Ance Gricmane. In the summer of 2018, Ance took part in the IV International Symposium of Painting by Marc Chagall, which was organized by the artist's museum in Vitebsk (Belarus). Specifically there Ance began her new research on the influence of music on works of Marc Chagall. Ance's concept does not imply direct copying of his artistic techniques, but is based on visual generalizations and introduction of textual material, including music – for example, the notes of synagogue chants in which Chagall participated.

Working with extreme concentration Ance creates a picturesque space resembling a mirror in which we are looking for our reflection. But in the end, we put aside all the search for “content” on the canvas and give in to the joy of contemplating what is depicted, as if enjoying music. The exhibition presents paintings inspired by ancient sacred art, sacred texts and music, both spiritual and Mozart's classical symphony No. 41, beloved by Marc Chagall.

As the author explains, the project is still in progress, and from time to time new works are added to it, which are then exhibited in new places, making this project deeper and more significant. “Sacred Abstraction” project has already been exhibited at the Marc Chagall Museum in Vitebsk, the Kaluga Museum of Fine Arts, the Ryazan State Regional Art Museum.

About the artist

Ance Gricmane (1987, Talsi, Latvia) graduated from the Latvian Christian Academy in 2010, received her master's degree in painting from the Art Academy of Latvia in 2013 and devoted her dissertation to contemporary sacred art. She engaged in research work at the Universities of Greifswald and Tartu, studied at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece), attended open lectures at the School of Contemporary Art in Frankfurt am Main (Staedelschule, Germany). At the international scientific and artistic conference RIXC Open Fields she gave a lecture on synesthesia - "sound vision" and the phenomenon of "unity of feelings". 

The artist's works are in the collection of the Marc Chagall Museum (Belarus), in private collections in Latvia, Russia, Greece, Germany, Great Britain, the USA and Mexico.