RAITIS HROLOVIČS Santa Mičule Latvijas Mākslas akadēmijas Mākslas zinātnes nodaļas studente / Student, Art Academy of Latvia
Raitis Hrolovičs. 2013 Foto no Raita Hroloviča personiskā arhīva / Photo from the private archive of Raitis Hrolovičs
Domājot par pāris pēdējos gados izstāžu dzīvē ienākušajiem jaunākās paaudzes māksliniekiem, Raitis Hrolovičs (dz. 1988) šķiet viens no oriģinālākajiem un neapšaubāmi daudzsološākajiem tās pārstāvjiem, lai arī viņa līdzšinējam radošajam vērienam īsti nepiestāv apzīmējums “jauns”. Raitis Hrolovičs studē glezniecību Latvijas Mākslas akadēmijā, un līdz šim viņam ir bijušas divas personālizstādes: izstāde “*” galerijā “L” un Jelgavas Kultūras namā (2011) un no polish Laikmetīgās mākslas centra “Ofisa galerijā” (2013). Abas personālizstādes tika veidotas kā objektu instalācijas, savukārt Raita Hroloviča glezniecība lielākoties bijusi pārstāvēta dažādās vietējā un Baltijas reģiona mēroga jauno mākslinieku grupu izstādēs, tostarp Young Painter Prize konkursizstādē Viļņā (2012). Viens no Raita Hroloviča jaunrades pievilcības faktoriem ir nobriedis un inovatīvs skatījums uz glezniecības kā medija iespējām laikmetā, kad joprojām aktuāls ir amerikāņu mākslas zinātnieces Rozalindas Krausas pasludinātais post-medium stāvoklis, kurā tiek noliegta tradicionālo māksliniecisko mediju pašvērtība1. Uz to norāda pirmkārt mākslinieka pievēršanās glezniecības materiālu klāsta paplašināšanai, darbu radīšanā izmantojot netradicionālus materiālus un tehnikas, piemēram, gleznojot ar tādiem rūpnieciskajiem materiāliem kā ruberoīds vai bitumens un iesaistot dabas spēkus – izplūdinot tušas gleznojumu lietū utt. Taču eksperimentēšana ar tehniskajām novitātēm nav vērsta tikai uz neparastu formālu efektu jaunradīšanu, tas drīzāk ir veids, kā pietuvoties dabiskam, pilnībā atvērtam un nesamākslotam radīšanas stāvoklim, darba procesu un tā sniegto baudu padarot par vienu no centrālajiem mākslas darba jēgas veidotājiem. Dažādās materiālu un tehniku saspēles piešķir Raita Hroloviča gleznām izteiktu jutekliskumu, kā arī materiālo pasauli padara vienlīdzīgu gleznotajai. Citiem vārdiem – mākslinieks meklē un intuitīvi atrod tēlainus mākslas un dzīves saskares punktus. Šāda fiziskajai realitātei pietuvināta un taktili piesātināta mākslinieciskā valoda atspoguļo teju netverami metafiziskas noskaņas, kas patīkami kontrastē ar gleznu ārējās uzbūves uzsvērto vienkāršību, pat raupjumu. Neraugoties uz darbu iedarbīgo, vitālo vizuālo izteiksmību, Raitis Hrolovičs uzsver, ka viņa māksla ir izteikti personiska un tās pamatā ir introspektīvs simbolisms, kas izpratni par to padara nepieejamu lielākajai daļai skatītāju. Skaidrs, ka sākotnējie
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Considering the younger generation artists who have become part of the exhibition scene over the past few years, Raitis Hrolovičs (born in 1988) seems to be one of the most original and promising. Although young, he has already produced a notable creative output. Hrolovičs studies painting at the Art Academy of Latvia and so far has had two solo shows: one under the title “*” at the gallery L and Jelgava Culture House (2011), and the other named no polish at the Office Gallery of the Contemporary Art Centre (2013). Both solo shows were created as object installations. Hrolovičs’ paintings, on the other hand, have mostly been presented in various group exhibitions by young Latvian and Baltic region painters, and also at the Young Painter Prize exhibition-competition in Vilnius (2012). One of the appealing features of Raitis Hrolovičs’ creative activity is a mature and innovative view of painting as a medium at an age when the post-medium state, as declared by the American art theorist and critic Rosalind Krauss1 and characterized by a denial of the intrinsic value of traditional art media, has not yet lost its topicality. Hrolovičs seeks to broaden the variety of materials used for painting, using in the creation of his works non-traditional materials and techniques, for example, industrial materials such as asphalt board or bitumen, and employs the effect of natural forces, e.g. rain to blur an Indian ink painting. His experiments with technical innovations, however, are not only aimed at creating formally new or unusual effects, rather it is a way of getting closer to a natural and completely unprejudiced state of creation without artificiality, turning the very process of painting and the enjoyment it gives into one of the main agents of shaping the idea of the piece of art. The various kinds of interplay between the materials and techniques endow Raitis Hrolovičs’ works with a pronounced physicality, and also equate the material world with that of the painting. In other words, the artist looks for imaginatively expressive meeting points between life and art, and intuitively finds them. This kind of artistic language which is close to physical reality and saturated with tactile expression reflects almost imperceptible metaphysical overtones, creating a welcome contrast to the emphatic simplicity and at times even roughness of the external composition of his paintings. Notwithstanding the vital visual expressivity of his works, Raitis Hrolovičs emphasizes that his art is deeply personal and is based on an introspective symbolism, which makes it next to impossible for most of the audience to grasp its deeper meaning. It is clear that the initial artistic impulses and the results of their implementation may tend to be completely different, and for that reason the aesthetic enjoyment of the works does not depend on knowledge of the so-called ‘artist’s code’ or the intended message. Even though Hrolovičs’ works at their initial stage are aesthetic reflections on private experience, a fact not immediately obvious, of vital importance are the creative mechanisms which help the personal (serving as raw material) to be turned into an artistic phenomenon. Among such agents are abstracted images from nature (e.g. age rings on trees, in more recent pictures), which provoke associations with post-war German neo-romantic traditions and their influence in turning to nature as the closest form of reality to human consciousness (e. g. the radical eco events of Joseph Beuys or the iconography of Anselm Kiefer’s symbolic landscapes, etc.). The abstraction of nature motifs is realized as the formation of imprints, and this