Instead of a canvas, a wooden bench, instead of exhibition halls – the urban environment of Valmiera, moreover, spectators have the opportunity not only to see the work of art, but also to sit in it. These are the Valmiera Art Benches. Also this year, Valmiera residents and town guests are delighted by new benches painted by artists. Inviting you to take a walk along the city’s main street – the river Gauja, the Art Benches are located on a new route on both banks of the Gauja.
They say that the eyes are the mirror of the soul and they tell a lot. Can the bench have the eye and what can every one of us see in it – artist Juris Dimiters invites to find that out. This will be the second time we will see his unusual style in the bench painting. The benches are located by the Valmiera Music School.
The artist Andris Vītoliņš has also replaced the canvas for bench boards for the second time. About the painting “Eternity”, which adorns a bench, the artist says: “In my work, I touch on the timeless values of the world. The diamond is like a symbol when it comes to processes that have the meaning of eternity. In my opinion, it is important to think about such fundamental values, because at the moment most thoughts and ideas are trapped in the depths of the Internet.” The bench is located by the Kazu rapids.
Right now, an Art Bench is being set up in the workshop of the artist Patrīcija Brekte-Pannetjē. Will it have anything to do with the artist’s previously created painting – fish that lives near Valterkaniņš, we will find out at the end of June, when the artist’s latest work will travel to Valmiera.
Unusual works of art are also created by students of Valmiera Art School (VDMV). This year, the bench painting was created by Dārta Zane Jēgere, a 3rd year student of the VDMV Advertising Design Department, under the guidance of teacher Ieva Lapiņa-Strazdīte. Her work entitled “Communication Deficit” can be seen in the “Krāču kakts”. “It is a reference to the realities of the pandemic, which prevented such ordinary and self-evident things as accidental touches, warm embraces and a smile sent to each other, which are still distanced and hidden in masks,” says Dārta Zane Jēgere.
The Art Benches will complement the urban environment of Valmiera for the sixth year in a row, but from now on they will have a new route – along both banks of the river Gauja. Thus, the bench painted by the artist Pēteris Līdaka, which is currently located at the bridge over the Gauja, depicting aircraft with propellers, wheels and wings, will be moved above the floral inscription “Valmiera”. In the special technique of Klāvs Loris – textile pigments and rust effect – the painted bench, which is currently at the intersection of Cēsu and Rūpniecības streets, will be placed near the Kazu rapids. Nearby will also be the new home of Kristīne Kutepova’s painted bench (currently Rīgas street 20), whose various articles and symbols tell about the structure of the world and the search for a way. In the future, it will rain cherry rain on the Kazu rapids – the bench currently placed by Signe Vanadziņa at the Valmiera Culture Center. The “Krāču kakts” will be the new home for the works of VDMV students Elza Andersone, Elīna Žurovļeva and Roberta Solovjova, which was created under the guidance of lecturer Iveta Gudeta. This bench invites you to sit in the clouds through the young artist depictions of the landscape of the outstanding cloud painter Pēteris Kundziņš.
The Valmiera Art Bench collection also includes a bench painted by Elita Patmalniece by the ruins of Valmiera Castle, inviting you to enjoy the still life of the night. Paula Zariņa-Zēmane at the Valmiera Music School has brought to life a small man – a landscape observer and thinker. Nearby is the work created by Ieva Iltnere, choosing an ornamental painting and giving her bench the name “Gauja Indians”. Above the floral inscription “Valmiera” Vija Zariņa and Kaspars Zariņš have depicted the natural beauty and special mood. Vilipsōn’s leitmotif in painting the bench was love. Aleksejs Naumovs “placed” boats and ships on the banks of the Gauja. Anna Heinrihsone, painting a bench by the Kazu rapids, thought of spring and saw beetles as living gems. Right next the spring characteristic splendor of Helēna Heinrihsone’ artwork also reigns, depicting her characteristic elements and characters – roses, face, legs and even a skull, which is a symbol of eternal life. There is also a bench painted by Ieva Jurjāne by the rapids. The artist used hot melted wax as a binder for color pigments, engraving on the bench text.
Everyone is welcome to go for a walk and visit the Art Benches!
Information prepared by: Zane Bulmeistare, Deputy head Branding and public relations department, Valmiera Municipalit