Kristians Brekte

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.

Works

Curriculum Vitae

Born in 1981 in Riga, Latvia

 

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

 

Solo exhibitions:    

2018  BREKTE666TATTOO, Gallery Bastejs, Riga, Latvia

2017  MR&MRS DOE, gallery Māksla XO, Riga, Latvia

2017  Arsenāls, Museum of Liepaja, Liepaja, Latvia

2016  Arsenāls, LNMM a/h Arsenals, Riga, Latvia                                                      

2014  Dead Ain’t Gone. Alma Gallery, Riga, Latvia                                                      

2013 Animal Painting. Mūkusala Art Salon, Riga, Latvia                                                    

2013 Obsessive Neurosis and Castrational Threat. Alma Gallery, Riga, Latvia

2012 Pure Evil. Alma Gallery, Riga, Latvia

2011 Trophies. Riga Art Space, intro hall (nominated for The Annual Diena Newspaper                 Award for Culture), Riga, Latvia

2010 Riga`s Madonnas. Alma Gallery (nominated for Purvitis prize), Riga, Latvia

2009 My Animals / Allergy. Alma Gallery, Riga, Latvia

2008 Morgue. Gallery 1st Floor, Riga, Latvia

2007 Gastronomy. Latvian Artists Union Gallery (nominated for The Annual Diena                        Newspaper Award for Culture)

 

Major group exhibitions:

2017 Biennal of Bratislava, IBBY Institute Bratislava, Slovekia

2017 Shut up, Grafich festival, LMA new rooms, Riga, Latvia

2017 Art Fair Art Vilnius 2017, Vilnius, Lithuenia

2017 The Experimental Sidestep, Art Gallery Putti, Riga, Latvia

2016 Solaris, with Modris Svilans, RMT Intro hall, Riga, Latvia

2015 Festival Survival K(n)it

2015 SCOPE NEW YORK Art Fair. Gallery Bastejs, New York, USA                     

2015 SCOPE BASEL Art Fair.  Gallery Bastejs, Basel,  Switzerland,                    

2015 SCOPE MIAMI BEACH. Gallery Bastejs, Miami, USA           

2015 IMAGO MUNDI” LUCIANO BENETTON COLLECTION. CINI FOUNDATION,                              VENICE, Italy

2015 HELENAS choice. Gallery Bastejs, Riga, Latvia 

2015 START ART FAIR at SAATCHI GALLERY. Gallery Bastejs, London, UK    

2015 Artists of the year. Gallery Bastejs, Riga, Latvia 

2014 Vienna Fair. Gallery Alma Vienna, Austria         

2014 On the Wave. Contemporary Art of Siberia and Latvia. Riga Art Space, Riga, Latvi

2014 Culture Canon. Art Academy of Latvia, Riga, Latvia        

2013 Last Exhibition. Literature and Music museum, Riga, Latvia       

2013 Nudity. Mūkusala Art Salon, Riga, Latvia

2013 The Museum Chooses. Acquisitions of the Latvian National Museum of Art, in 2012             Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Riga, Latvia

2012 Verge Art. Miami International Art fair, Miami, USA                    

2012 Artists at Home and Abroad. Global projects Broadway gallery, New York, USA

2012 Art Vilnius. Vilnius (Young Foreign Artist (under 35) title), Lithuania            

2012 The Naughty Ones / Artists As Challengers of Society. Arsenāls Exhibition hall of the             LNMM, Riga, Latvia

2012 To be or not. Gallery Brīvības 75, Dailes Theatre, Riga, Latvia

2011 Thickspace. Dr. Guntis Belēvičs Collection. Arsenāls Exhibition hall of the LNMM,                   Riga, Latvia                  

2011 Waves.. the Tides of Time.  Gallery Onetwentyeight, New York,

2011 Shakespeare + Chekhov + Beckett + Blaumanis. 12th Prague

2011 Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, Prague, Czechoslovakia

2011 The Playful Eight. Gallery Onetwentyeight, New York, USA          

2010 Urban Children. Arsenāls Exhibition hall of the LNMM, Riga, Latvia              

2010 Mutants. Mūkusala Art Salon, Rīga, Latvia         

2010 Golden works.  Arsenāls Exhibition hall of the LNMM, Riga, Latvia                 

2009 NEXT. The Invitational Exhibition of Emerging Art, Chicago, USA

2009 Contemporary Icons. Alma Gallery, Rīga, Latvia

2008 The 9th Baltic States Biennale of Graphic Art.  Kaliningrad, Russia

2008 BERLINER LISTE. Berlin, Germany

2007 Candy Bomber. Arsenāls Exhibition hall of the LNMM, Riga, Latvia

2007 The Master and Margarita. 11th Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and                  Space, Prague, Czechoslovakia 

2006 Urban dice 10th International Architecture exhibition. Venice, Italy

2006 Biennale of Architecture. Venice, Italy

2006 Emergency Biennale in Chechnya: stopover Riga. Upcoming Riga City Exhibition hall,          Riga, Latvia

2005 By the way Riga. Mainz Catacombs of Mainz, Mainz, Germany    

2005 Poles Together / Poles Apart project by curators from New York and Israel, 51st                   International Art exhibition – Venice Biennale, Venice Italy                              

2003 Contemporary Lear 10th Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design  and Space.                 Prague, Czechoslovakia          

                                                                          

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               

2014  The Night Is Not Over Yet. Dailes Theatre, small hall, directed  by Intars Rešetins

2014  Shaping. Dailes Theatre, the great hall, directed by Dž. Dž. Džilindžers

2014  Borgia. Liepāja Theatre, directed by Dž. Dž. Džilindžers

2014  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 Theater Oslo / Latvian National Theatre, directed by Gaļina             Poļiščuka

 

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