On Friday, 24 July 2026, at 11.00 the Latvian National Museum of Art invites mass media representatives to the press conference at the exhibition Contemporary Drawings: Florence and Daniel Guerlain’s Donation and Gifts to Centre Pompidou.
The exhibition Contemporary Drawings: Florence and Daniel Guerlain’s Donation and Gifts to Centre Pompidou, which will take place in the 2nd floor left wing galleries of the main building of the Latvian National Museum of Art (LNMA) from 25 July to 1 November 2026, is an internationally significant and artistically highly valuable collaboration project between LNMA and Centre Pompidou. It presents works from the collection donated by collectors and art patrons Florence and Daniel Guerlain to the French institution over the past twenty years.
The Guerlain collection is thematically diverse and distinctly contemporary in nature. From the donation of nearly 1200 works, a multifaceted selection has been curated, featuring 98 drawings by 43 artists of different nationalities most of whom have never been exhibited in Latvia and spanning the 1970s to 2019.
The exhibition provides insight into the contemporary practice of drawing. While the works are largely emotional, some reflect a more analytical and rational approach. They captivate with their broad range and the melodic sensations created by the energy of the line. From fleeting strokes to realistic imagery, the refined touch of pencil, graphite, ink, gouache, watercolour, and other materials creates worlds that are either fragile or sturdily constructed.
