Maya Nora Tabaka is perhaps the most famous classic artist in Latvia. She has not appeared in public for six years, and now she has arrived at the opening of her solo exhibition. One could say, a sensation!
Art is Life!
Having gained all-Union fame back in the seventies, the queen of Latvian painting also achieved international recognition at that time (thanks to her work in West Berlin, a stronghold of capitalism – a rare case). As a result, she received acknowledgment from both the official Soviet authorities and the progressive art community of Europe.
Now Maya is 86 years old and last appeared in public six years ago when she was awarded the Purvitis Prize and the accompanying 10,000 euros. Since then, her exhibitions have taken place, but she did not attend them due to health reasons. However, she continued to work, transitioning to smaller format pieces. Art is life!
And now she came in person, with a cane – to the opening of the exhibition "Composition," which is running at the Daugava Gallery. She sat in a chair – powerful, monumental, and received congratulations from numerous admirers.
Among them was the legendary Imants Lancmanis, who was once the long-time director of the museum palace in Rundale – among Tabaka's works (flower compositions) were also presented motifs of the famous architectural gem. According to him, Maya is a phenomenon that has accompanied his life for 66 years! All this time she continues to create the amazing world she has made for herself.
Got Carried Away
Tabaka is painting again every day! According to her own words, she started creating these paintings quite by accident while sitting in her garden.
"I was just playing with all of this, but gradually became fascinated and interested in the combinations of colors and the reality that arises when many colors come face to face. I was captivated by purely pictorial things.
Some flowers in the works are from my garden, but an element of fantasy is always present. Each painting has its own color scheme: some with a purple hue, others green, others pink – that's how I work, solving different purely pictorial tasks…
A few years ago, I decided to stop painting, but then people started coming up and asking: 'Why?'. I felt that it became easier when creating a work."
"By the Rose Fence".
This is What Recognition Means
As the gallery director, art historian Anda Treija, says, Maya Tabaka possesses an unlimited field of imagination, which is one of the foundations of her creativity. In her paintings, fantasies, dreams, and memories become reality, similar to the films of Federico Fellini, where true reality is a fabrication. This is what was later called "the theater of Maya Tabaka."
"In recent years, Maya Tabaka has not painted, or painted rarely and little," says Ms. Treija. "Because it was a difficult time, it was dedicated to caring for her closest person, and then saying goodbye to him - Atis Klavins.
Returning to painting seemed impossible. Even if she had the desire, there simply wasn't enough time physically. Maya resigned herself to the fact that she would no longer paint; her time had passed. And then a miracle happened. A few years ago, Maya Tabaka received a message from the director of the National Museum of Art, Mara Lace, that she was awarded the Purvitis Prize for her lifelong contribution to art. The artist called me to share the news – her voice was resonant; I hadn't heard such a Maya Tabaka in a long time. I understood what recognition means for an artist, gratitude for her art, for her life. She never mentioned the financial support that the prize provided – that is not the main thing."
"Roses at Rundale Palace".
Mastery of Brush Control
A few more days passed, and Maya told me over the phone that she almost had to use an axe to chip off the old, dried paint from her palette, and now she sits at the easel and paints. She never thought she would feel so good at the easel…
"And the next time we started outlining the contours of the upcoming exhibition! Maya Tabaka's 80th birthday was approaching, and we celebrated it with an exhibition. Maya painted only flowers. Her friend and ally, Imants Lancmanis, called Maya Tabaka the most outstanding figurative artist in European painting of the second half of the 20th century.
Yes, Maya considered herself a figurative artist. Her theater is unthinkable without actors. But it so happened that now her models became flowers. An enormous wealth of forms, not to mention color. At first, it was a bouquet of red roses, then imperial crowns, tulips, irises… oh, my! It is such a rich world. At that time, it seemed that this would be enough.
Maya laughs at herself and says that she never thought she would remain a flower painter. Yes, it is true that flower painting is not considered the highest tier in the art community. But there is a well-known saying: it is not what you paint that matters, but how you paint it. Maya Tabaka's painting is and remains a testament to her mastery of brush control."
All Are Equal, but Some Roses Are More Equal
As Anda recalls, there was even an "altercation" in the gallery – two young people were looking at the same painting and… disagreed.
"This was the first and only time in my thirty years of working as a gallerist. I had to apply my modest diplomatic skills. Everything ended well. It turned out that the floral painting was intended as a gift for a daughter’s birthday…
Maya will never do what she does not like, so I can confidently say that she enjoys painting flowers. She also claims that all flowers are beautiful, that she cannot say which ones she likes the most, but roses are roses…
Although I have a feeling that the artist has not yet painted her own roses. However, at the exhibition, there is a rose on one canvas, so exquisite in color that it seems she captured the essence of this flower. I also like the red tulips with a drop of dew, the white apple blossoms – they were gifted to Maya's partner in life, her recently deceased husband Atis Klavins…
And it is charming that the artist is enchanted by such a magnificent and mysterious world of flowers!"
