Henrijs Preiss

Henrijs Preiss’ painting style is highly original in the Latvian context. His geometric compositions kaleidoscopically unite chaos and order, as complex combinations of simple elements simultaneously express movement and calm, elicit tranquillity and anxiety, and stimulate aesthetic and esoteric experience. In Preiss’ geometric, alchemistic alloys, one can find associations with diverse cultural phenomena, from the Kabala, mandalas, Masonic heraldry and sacral architecture to Steam Punk and references to 20th century avant-garde. However, the artist almost never used readymade ornaments and concrete symbols. Instead, he “grows” from the individual elements a mysterious visual message which is much more significant than its components. Each viewer of Preiss’ works is invited to delve into their own cultural and experiential baggage from the ideas and associative fragments which are stimulated by these rational geometric forms, and to build their own unique and intriguing, ambiguous interpretation.

 “Nr. 402” reveals Henrijs Preiss’ characteristic geometric forms composed in harmony with the principals of central and vertical axial symmetry, whose core structures - rectangle, triangle and circle – provoke the viewer to open their perception to flowing interplay with symbols, philosophical ideas and mystical associations. 

Nr. 402. 2018.