Meet Ritums Ivanovs at Draugu House Gallery during “ArtWalk Cēsis”
On Saturday, 8 August, we invite you to explore the “ArtWalk Cēsis” art trail and stop by Konrāds Quarter, where Cēsis-born artist Ritums Ivanovs’ solo exhibition “Screen” is on view at Draugu House Gallery.
Today, we increasingly encounter people’s faces and events on screens - in video footage, cinematic close-ups, and an endless stream of images. Ritums Ivanovs transfers these images from the digital world into painting, giving them a different sense of time, depth, and presence. The exhibition features large-scale paintings, most of which were created especially for this project. In them, the human face gradually emerges from structures of colour, line, and light.
In Ivanovs’ paintings, a portrait is more than a depiction of a particular person. The longer we look, the less important the identity of the person becomes - and the more significant what the image awakens within us. A screen image is transformed into a portrait, while the portrait becomes a meeting place: an encounter with another person, as well as with our own gaze.
The gallery itself also has a remarkable story. It occupies the site of Cēsis’ first cinema, where the city’s first moving pictures were once shown. Now, images from the screen return to these rooms in a new form - as paintings.
During “ArtWalk Cēsis”, Ritums Ivanovs himself will welcome visitors to the gallery. This is an opportunity not only to see the exhibition but also to meet the artist, talk to him about his work, and discover the stories behind its creation.
Born in Cēsis, Ritums Ivanovs is one of Latvia’s best-known contemporary painters. He has held more than 35 solo exhibitions in Latvia and abroad, and portraiture occupies a particularly important place in his art.
📍 Draugu House Gallery, Konrāds Quarter, Rožu laukums, Cēsis
📅 8 August
🕛 “ArtWalk Cēsis” from 11:00 to 17:00
🎟️ Free admission
Come and meet art and friends!
Published04/08/2026
Jānis Palkavnieks
