The Art Academy of Latvia (AAL) in cooperation with Semarah Hotels opened solo exhibition \u201cOTHER TIMES\u201d (CITI LAIKI) by the talented AAL graduate Sandra Str\u0113le at the design hotel Grand Poet on Tuesday, October 12. At the moment, the hotel\u2019s collection includes six paintings by young up-and-coming Latvian artists.<\/strong><\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn my creative work, I have always tried to do paintings as series of stories evolving over the time, which change and complement each other from one exhibition to another, encouraging the most attentive viewers to look for recognizable motifs they have seen before. The exhibition includes paintings from various series of my works that I\u2019ve been working on since 2017,\u201d says artist Sandra Str\u0113le, inviting one and all to visit the gallery. <\/em><\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Art Academy of Latvia Professor and Vice-Rector Andris V\u012btoli\u0146\u0161<\/strong> took part in the opening of Sandra Str\u0113le\u2019s solo exhibition, and he describes Sandra as a very determined and goal-oriented young artist: \u201cSandra Str\u0113le came to my attention as a third-year student when, working on her assignments, she was doing 100% more than her peers. At that time, in order to implement the idea of \u200b\u200bher work of art, Sandra was ready to travel hundreds of kilometres from Riga to a remote corner of Latvia just to achieve her goal. Over time, her perseverance and efficiency have won important awards at various local and international competitions. This does not mean that Sandra is resting on her laurels. She continues to work persistently, currently she is studying for her doctorate at the Art Academy of Latvia and preparing for new exhibitions abroad.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n The exhibition features works from the series \u201cMELANCHOLY\u201d (MELANHOLIJA) and \u201cNOSTALGIA\u201d (NOSTALGIJA)<\/strong><\/p><\/h5>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The exhibition features works, which focus on the creation of closed, alienated, sometimes lonely places, their architecture and fictional everyday scenes, offering the viewer the role of an observer. In turn, the series \u201cExhibitions that Did not Take Place\u201d (Nenotiku\u0161\u0101s izst\u0101des) focuses on the problems of the artist\u2019s profession by visualizing the ideas of various painting exhibitions and trying to find out what microscopic part of all these ideas are ever realized, and whether they have to be realized at all. This series also reflects on what it means to be a successful artist and what it means to be a female artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n About artist Sandra Str\u0113le<\/strong><\/p><\/h5>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sandra Str\u0113le was born in 1991. In 2016, she graduated from the Art Academy of Latvia with a Master’s degree in painting, she also spent one semester, as part of a student exchange program, at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. She has received a visual arts scholarship from the Boris and Inara Teterev Foundation (2012), Brederlo von Sengbusch Art Prize (2014), a SEB Bank scholarship in Painting (2016), prestigious scholarships from The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation in Canada (2019, 2021), and the Young Painter\u2019s Award (2019). Sandra Str\u0113le has had several solo exhibitions, participated in group exhibitions and artist residencies in Italy, Norway, India, Belgium, Germany, France and elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every visitor to the gallery can vote for his or her favourite work<\/strong><\/p><\/h5>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n To create a unique collection of works by young Latvian artists, at the end of each exhibition Grand Poet purchases one of the paintings most popular with the visitors, to be included in the hotel\u2019s Grand Poet Art Collection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cArt has enduring value, and we are really happy to support young Latvian artists who are able to inspire us in this stressful time. Sandra Str\u0113le\u2019s artwork will be a great addition to the hotel\u2019s collection of works by young Latvian artists,\u201d <\/em>says Grand Poet head M\u0101ris Alnis<\/strong>, adding that every visitor to the gallery can vote for his or her favourite work by awarding it a 5 grand sticker. The voting stickers are available at Grand Poet.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n About Grand Poet Art Collection<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/h5>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n On June 14, 2018 the Art Academy of Latvia and Semarah Hotels chain of hotels signed a memorandum of understanding on support for the development of young artists. The objective is to support the academy\u2019s students and young Latvian artists \u2013 to encourage them to strive for new achievements, build self-confidence and pursue an international career, provide financial support for talent development, create a space for solo exhibitions, thereby promoting the development of art in Latvia.<\/em><\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n