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Kristians Brekte (1981) became known on the Latvian contemporary art scene more than a decade ago, when he was branded a hooligan. “(…) boldly and as if with a scalpel, Brekte always ‘cuts’ the exhibition visitor a little. So that it smarts slightly, and you don’t understand whether it’s a good or a bad thing, and even get a little angry,” wrote Anna Iltnere, editor of the web portal Arterritory.com.
Brekte is one of the most expressive Latvian new generation artists, who has earned his publicity by working in various fields. He chooses to speak about everlasting themes like life and death, religion and sexuality. The range of his artistic outlets is seemingly endless - from monumental ironic figurative compositions charged with energy and free painting style, emphasized brutal brush strokes and local color to accurately crafted ready-made sculptures which creates completely new contexts of used materials.
He has been taking part in group exhibitions across the Europe, United States and Russia since 2001 and has already made eight solo shows. One of them “The Madonnas of Riga” (2010) was nominated for the most prestigious art award in Latvia - “Purvītis Prize”. Brekte has been featured in a book “Younger that Jesus” published by Phaidon in 2010. After representing Alma Gallery in Third International Contemporary Art Fair “Art Vilnius’12” he received “Young Foreign Artist (under 35)” title. Brekte has also gained MA degree in stage design and has proven himself as a professional scenographer by working in every most noticable theatre in Latvia including Dailes Theatre, New Riga Theatre, Liepajas Theatre.
Education:
2006–2009 Master of Arts, Department of Stage Design, Art Academy of Latvia
2002–2006 Bachelor of Arts, Department of Stage Design, Art Academy of Latvia
1997–2002 Riga Design and Art School (former Riga College of Applied Art)
1987–1997 Riga 2nd Secondary School
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Professional working experience:
2014–present Head of the Department of Environmental Art, Art Academy of Latvia
2013–present Assistant Professor in the Department of Stage Design, Art Academy of Latvia
2011–present Lecturer in the Department of Environmental Art, Art Academy of Latvia
2011–2013 Lecturer in the Department of Stage Design, Art Academy of Latvia
2009–2011 Guest Lecturer in the Department of Stage Design, Art Academy of Latvia
2012–2014 Independent expert at State Culture Capital Foundation, Council of Visual Arts
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Major stage designs for plays:
2015 – Children of the Sun Dailes Theatre, the great hall, directed by Dž. Dž. Džilindžers
2014 – Two Captains Dailes Theatre, small hall, directed by Genādijs Ostrovskis
2013 – The Night Is Not Over Yet Dailes Theatre, small hall, directed by Intars Rešetins
2013 – Shaping Dailes Theatre, the great hall, directed by Dž. Dž. Džilindžers
2013 – Borgia Liepāja Theatre, directed by Dž. Dž. Džilindžers
2013 – A Behanding In Spokane Dailes Theatre, chamber hall, directed by Jurijs Djakonovs
2012 – Angels in America Dailes Theatre, small hall, directed by Mārtiņš Eihe
2012 – Let the Fire Dailes Theatre, the great hall, directed by Dž. Dž. Džilindžers
2010 – Farewell in June Dailes Theatre, small hall, directed by Mārtiņš Eihe
2009 – Half-stop New Riga Theatre, directed by Ilze Olingere
2008 – Necrophiliac Dailes Theatre, chamber hall, directed by Dž. Dž. Džilindžers
2008 – Noble Gases New Riga Theatre / Festival Golden Mask in Moscow, directed by Ilze Olingere
2006 – Holy Blood Black box Teater Oslo / Latvian National Theatre, directed by Gaļina Poļiščuka
Solo exhibitions:
2014 – Dead Ain't Gone Alma Gallery
2013 – Animal Painting Mūkusala Art Salon, small hall
2013 – Obsessive Neurosis and Castrational Threat Alma Gallery
2012 – Pure Evil Alma Gallery
2011 – Trophies Riga Art Space, intro hall (nominated for The Annual Diena Newspaper Award for Culture)
2010 – Riga Madonnas Alma Gallery (nominated for Purvītis Prize)
2009 – My Animals / Allergy Alma Gallery
2008 – Morgue Gallery 1st Floor
2007 – Gastronomy Latvian Artists Union Gallery (nominated for The Annual Diena Newspaper Award for Culture)
Major group exhibitions:
2014 – Vienna Fair Messeplatz, Vienna, Austria
2014 – On the Wave. Contemporary Art of Siberia and Latvia Riga Art Space, Riga
2014 – Culture Canon Art Academy of Latvia, Riga
2013 – Last Exhibition Literature and Music museum, Riga
2013 – Nudity Mūkusala Art Salon, Riga
2013 – The Museum Chooses. Acquisitions of the Latvian National Museum of Art
in 2012 Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Riga
2012 – Verge Art Miami International Art fair, Miami
2012 – Global Projects:Artists at Home and Abroad Broadway gallery, New York
2012 – Contemporary Art Fair Art Vilnius exhibition hall Litexpo, Vilnius (Young Foreign Artist (under 35) title)
2012 – The Naughty Ones / Artists As Challengers of Society Arsenāls Exhibition hall of the LNMA, Riga
2012 – To be or not Gallery Brīvības 75, Dailes Theatre, Riga
2011 – Thickspace. Dr. Guntis Belēvičs Collection Arsenāls Exhibition hall of the LNMA, Riga
2011 – Waves.. the Tides of Time Gallery Onetwentyeight, New York
2011 – Shakespeare + Chekhov + Beckett + Blaumanis 12th Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, Prague
2011 – The Playful Eight Gallery Onetwentyeight, New York
2010 – Urban Children Arsenāls Exhibition hall of the LNMA, Riga
2010 – Mutants Mūkusala Art Salon, Rīga
2010 – Golden works Arsenāls Exhibition hall of the LNMA, Riga
2009 – NEXT the Invitational Exhibition of Emerging Art, Chicago
2009 – Contemporary Icons Alma Gallery, Rīga
2008 – The 9th Baltic States Biennale of Graphic Art Kaliningrad
2008 – BERLINER LISTE Fair for Contemporary Art, Berlin
2007 – Candy Bomber Arsenāls Exhibition hall of the LNMA, Riga
2007 – The Master and Margarita 11th Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, Prague
2006 – Urban dice 10th International Architecture exhibition – Venice Biennale of Architecture, Venice
2006 – Emergency Biennale in Chechnya: stopover Riga, Upcoming Riga City Exhibition hall, Riga
2005 – By the way Riga – Mainz Catacombs of Mainz, Mainz
2005 – Poles Together / Poles Apart project by curators from New York and Israel, 51st International Art exhibition – Venice Biennale, Venice
2003 – Contemporary Lear 10th Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, Prague
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Works in collections:
The Collection of the Latvian National Museum of Art, Latvia
Jānis Zuzāns’ Collection, Latvia
Dr.biol. Guntis Belēvičs’ Collection, Latvia
Irina and Māris Vītols’ Collection, Latvia
Jānis Loze’ Collection, Latvia
McKee Gallery Collection, United States
Other private collections in Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, France and United States