The painting "Atzimstot no pelniem..." ("Rising from the Ashes...") served as the focal point in artist Karine Paronyanc's latest project, a multisensory exhibition/stroll titled "Atzimt no pelniem" ("Rise from Ashes") held within the premises of the Botanical Garden of the University of Latvia. The artwork was an integral part of a living plant installation within the old pump house, symbolizing water as the source of earthly life. Throughout the exhibition, the painting evolved alongside the installation's plants, shallow roots, sprouts, and branches, blossoming with the arrival of spring.
The artist frequently works in spaces imbued with a rich history, where different eras and elements intersect. Abandoned airports, ravaged greenhouses, and the rooftops of renowned radio stations have become iconic locales for her. Karine's current studio is housed in one of the historic manor buildings adjacent to the Riga Botanical Garden, surrounded by exotic plant pavilions, scientific laboratories, old manor buildings, and the former lecture hall.
Ashes also hold a particular significance within the project. As part of the art happening, the artist ritually burned her early works and fabrics deemed less successful, those burdened with unnecessary memories and creative disappointments. She intends to utilize the ashes in future paintings, using them as a primer for new artworks.
Karine paints her paintings on canvases, which are primed with campfire ashes. It is an ancient promer recipe, well known to the old masters - just like a metaphor that recalls the rebirth of the Phoenix from the ashes, a symbol of eternal renewal and immortality, the search for new meaning in the ashes of lost meanings and images.
"I am convinced that this marks a new beginning and I hope for a resurgence from the ashes...," states Karine.
The artist is inspired by the exploration of the spontaneous plasticity of living nature juxtaposed with the linearity of civilization's intellect. Her motto "Art with a Bio Stamp" underscores the high quality of the product and the creator's gentle approach towards humanity, nature, and its rhythms.
Karine Paronyanc "Rising from the ashes..."
2024