The exhibition “Architecture of Silence”, dedicated to the centenary of the prominent Latvian émigré artist, playwright and painter Raimonds Staprāns, has opened at the Latvian National Museum of Art. Starting today, the exhibition can be seen in the fourth-floor galleries of the museum’s main building at Jaņa Rozentāla Square 1 in Riga.
The exhibition offers a concentrated overview of Raimonds Staprāns’ (1926–2026) artistic career, from his early works of the 1950s to his final paintings created in the 21st century. It traces the development and refinement of the artist’s visual language over a creative career spanning seven decades. Fifteen works are being exhibited in Latvia for the first time.
Acknowledging the important contribution made by Staprāns’ family and supporters to the creation of the exhibition, Iveta Derkusova, Director of the Latvian National Museum of Art (LNMM), said:
“Raimonds Staprāns is a figure of international stature, without whose contribution and presence Latvia’s cultural landscape would be unimaginable. By honouring the artist’s centenary with a retrospective of his work, the Latvian National Museum of Art highlights the uniqueness of Staprāns’ painting. He constructs his paintings, creating spaces in which elements of reality become universalised images. His works demand concentration and a moment of silence from the viewer – an opportunity to pause amid the rush of everyday life and reflect on what truly matters.”
The exhibition is supported by Riga City Council. Staprāns was born in Riga and spent the first years of his life there, while his family was actively involved in the city’s social and political life. During his years in exile, the artist sought to maintain his connection with Latvia and his native city.
Vilnis Ķirsis, Deputy Chairman of Riga City Council, said:
“Raimonds Staprāns built his career in the United States, yet throughout his creative life he always emphasised his connection to Riga and Latvia. His success in exile also helped establish internationally the idea of a free Latvia and Riga as a modern city with a vibrant cultural life. The exhibition ‘Raimonds Staprāns. Architecture of Silence’ is an important event both for Riga and the Baltic region as a whole, offering an opportunity to see here the works of an internationally acclaimed Latvian artist and affirming Riga’s place alongside other cultural destinations associated with Raimonds Staprāns.”
Exhibition encourages “slow looking”
The exhibition invites visitors to experience Staprāns’ artistic legacy through “slow looking” – a method that encourages viewers to focus closely on an artwork and its details.
Research suggests that the average gallery visitor spends between eight and 30 seconds looking at a painting. Slow looking encourages visitors to devote at least three to five minutes to an artwork, taking time to consider its content, message, composition and other artistic qualities.
Staprāns often worked on his paintings for years, pausing and returning to them repeatedly as he refined details and nuances. His creative process can be described as meditative and even introverted, and slow looking gives exhibition visitors an opportunity to experience his paintings in a manner that reflects the way in which they were created.
Dr. art. Elita Ansone, curator of the exhibition, explains:
“Raimonds Staprāns identified himself as both a Rigan and a Latvian, while at the same time his art is distinctly American and is particularly associated with the San Francisco Bay Area. Yet his paintings also reveal an introversion characteristic of Latvians. This duality is one of the perspectives through which Raimonds Staprāns’ paintings can be viewed slowly.”
Extensive programme of events
The exhibition is accompanied by an extensive programme of events. The first “Conversation at the Museum” will take place on Friday, 14 August at 16:00 with American gallerist Peter Mendenhall, who professionally represented Raimonds Staprāns as his art dealer for more than 30 years.
Mendenhall will discuss the reception and significance of Staprāns’ work in the US art world, as well as his personal experience of friendship and collaboration with the artist. The conversation will be held in English.
The next “Conversation at the Museum” is scheduled for Sunday, 6 September at 13:00, when exhibition curator Elita Ansone will provide a broader insight into Staprāns’ personality and creative legacy. In spring 2025, Ansone visited the artist’s studio in San Francisco to select paintings for the LNMM exhibition. Visitors will have an opportunity to learn more about the distinctive character of Staprāns’ work – not only his painting but also his playwriting – and its relationship with developments in Latvian and American contemporary art.
Alongside the opening of the exhibition, the artist’s memoir “46 Episodes With and Without Irony” has also been published. Based on Staprāns’ personal memories, the book reaches beyond individual experience to become an important historical testimony for future generations. It covers a broad range of interconnected experiences, from the cultural and political life of interwar Riga to the experience of becoming a refugee and his subsequent professional and artistic development in exile and the United States.
In October, Pēteris Krilovs’ documentary feature film “The Red Barn” is also expected to reach screens.
The exhibition will remain open until 17 January 2027.
About Raimonds Staprāns
At the end of the Second World War, Raimonds Staprāns (1926–2026), then 18 years old, fled with his family to Germany. In 1947, the family emigrated to the United States and settled in Salem, Oregon.
In 1948, Staprāns began studying painting and drama at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he earned his bachelor’s degree between 1948 and 1952. He later completed a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of California, Berkeley between 1952 and 1954. San Francisco subsequently became his home, where he developed his career as both an artist and playwright.
During his lifetime, Staprāns held more than 60 solo exhibitions. His works are represented in the collections of numerous museums, including museums in San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, San Jose, Portland, Pasadena, Phoenix, Sacramento, Santa Barbara and Houston, as well as the Latvian National Museum of Art.
The exhibition “Raimonds Staprāns. Architecture of Silence” is organised by the Latvian National Museum of Art in cooperation with the Andrejs Žagars Cultural Development Foundation and in partnership with Riga City Council, RIX Flow, Novum Riga Charitable Foundation, Ellex Kļaviņš, MRS grupa, the Mākslai vajag telpu foundation, Staprāns 100 and the Staprāns family.
Source: lnmm.gov.lv
