BAIBA ĀBELĪTE

Artist

I grew up in Mežaparks, in the family of the artist Visvaldis Asars. I have Masters in Art degree gained in the Latvian Academy of Arts. As a student, I was actively participating in art life during my studies – many art events, competitions, as well as ERASMUS programs in Great Britain, Germany and Norway, KUNO program courses in Finland and activities supported by the Teterovu Foundation in Poland. In 2015 and 2018, I received the SEB Scholarship in Painting at the LAA Audience Award, participated in joint exhibitions in Latvia and Georgia, and held several solo exhibitions, the last of which is “Permitted Illusion” at the Jurmala City Museum (2020). I have received the Riga City Council Prize in the competition and exhibition “Jazeps Pigoznis Prize in Latvian Landscape Painting” in 2020 (St. Peter’s Church, Riga). In 2021 I graduated with honors from the Latvian Academy of Arts, including digital solutions in my multifaceted master’s thesis “Transformation”.

– Baiba Ābelīte

My Art

My artistic practice develops as an inquiry into the complex transformations that define our time, particularly the relationship between growing urbanization, technology, and the human condition. My work tends to merge abstract and geometric styles. I have deliberately removed the human figure, focusing instead on compositions constructed through rigorous grids, where layers of color—often interspersed with black—create a dynamic play of surfaces and depth that reflects the ongoing social and cultural shifts of contemporary life. I use industrial materials and metal surfaces not only as supports but as fundamental and leading elements of my visual language, capable of reflecting the tensions and ambiguities of a world in constant evolution. Through painting, installations, and performance, I explore the dynamics of an increasingly digitally mediated urban environment, raising questions about our identity within a posthuman scenario and the fragile balance between technological progress and ecological preservation. For me, art is a space for dialogue and reflection—a means to challenge dominant narratives and stimulate critical awareness. My work aims to actively engage the viewer, inviting them to recognize themselves in the reflections of metal surfaces and thereby participate in an open conversation about the contradictions and possibilities of the present. In this way, in an age marked by uncertainty and transformation, I strive to offer a vision that is both personal and universal, capable of evoking tension but also hope. It is essential for me to present my artistic voice to an international audience, sharing my artistic philosophy expressed through a refined and ever-evolving aesthetic, while striving to maintain a stylistic coherence that can become my distinctive signature.

My CV