The exhibits, which opened at the end of November and will be on view until the first week of February, both draw attention to ties between the Latvian and Belgian art worlds from both during the early 20th century to contemporary times.
The opening of the art shows also underlines Latvia's loooming six-month term leading the Presidency of the Council of the EU
The gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts of Liège (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Liège) is focusing on the old masters of the 1920’s and 1930’s – artists like Jānis Tīdemanis, Kārlis Padegs, Ģederts Eliass, Jānis Liepiņš, Leo Svemps, Eduards Kalniņš, Valdis Kalnroze and others alongside works by Wallonian artists from the Liege museum collections. Belgium and Latvia in fact had very close relations between their artworlds at both the state diplomatic and museum levels during the roaring 1920's.
Meanwhile the exhibit at Musée Ianchelevici in La Louvière will display contemporary mixed-media Latvian works which reflect upon past masterworks in innovative ways. No less innovative is the gallery’s decision to put the Belgian works on the floor below the dedicated Latvian works in an original and thrifty use of space in the small museum close to the city of Mons, next year’s European Culture Capital.
