Rūdolfs' LEGACY. HEIMRĀTS 100
From September 16 to November 22, the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design (Skārņu Street 10, Riga) will host the exhibition “Rūdolfs' LEGACY. Heimrāts 100”, dedicated to the centenary of the outstanding textile artist Rūdolfs Heimrāts (1926–1992) who was professor of the Art Academy of Latvia and founder of the Latvian textile art school.
The exhibition unveils Heimrāts’ multifaceted creative and pedagogical legacy, highlighting his significant contribution to the development of Latvian textile art in the second half of the 20th century. Alongside tapestries, decorative textiles, fabric print designs, and ceramics, special consideration is given to his work as an educator at the Art Academy of Latvia who has inspired several generations of textile artists.
Visitors will enjoy to explore Heimrāts’ works from various museum collections, learn about his unrealized creative projects from his family archive, documentary films and photographs from private archives and the Latvian State Archives of Audiovisual Documents. The display will also feature vibrant fabric prints and innovative textile designs in various techniques. For the first time a particular focus has been placed on Heimrāts’ collaboration with architects (M. Staņa, Dz. Driba, O. Ostenbergs, L. A. Knāķe, M. Ģelzis, and others) and his contribution to the development of interior design.
The idea of the exhibition is to promote a greater public understanding of the formation, development processes, and contemporary relevance of the Latvian textile art school.
The Textile Art Department of the Art Academy of Latvia has, over its existence, trained around 300 textile artists whose work directly or indirectly reflects the influence of Rūdolfs Heimrāts. The department’s alumni have demonstrated a high level of professionalism through their creative work and achievements both in Latvia and abroad. Among Heimrāts’ students are prominent artists such as Edīte Pauls-Vīgnere, Aija Baumane, Egils Rozenbergs, Lilita Postaža, Ruta Bogustova, Dzintra Vilks, Arvīds Priedīte, Anita Celma, Inese Jakobi, Baiba Osīte, Pēteris Sidars, and many others.
The exhibition will be accompanied by an extensive educational program and a conference celebrating Rūdolfs Heimrāts’ enduring creative legacy and his far reaching artistic influence not only on Latvian textile art but also on the development of the particular field in the Baltic countries.
