Zaiga Putrāma

Zaiga Putrāma debuted as a textile artist in the 1980s, then moved on from traditional textiles to art solutions involving fibres, creating objects from metal wire which won the Grand Prix at the 1996 Lodz textile art triennale. Putrāma’s embroidery grew beyond the boundaries of applied art, and the fact that a work became an object did not limit its ability to plastically convey an intimately personal or philosophical message. Putrāma strives for maximum simplicity, reserve and formal clarity. Her works are neither provoked by invented concepts or illustrations for insights gleaned from books. Her works convey feelings arising from observing natural processes. Moreover, occasionally the material itself dictates its formal conditions, which the artist respects by reviewing her initial intentions. 

This interplay is also present in the works from the series “Daži dzejoļi” acquired for the LNMM collection. These are highly personal works, yet at the same time they address subjects and feelings which allow them to be placed in the context of Latvian feminist art. Putrāma poetically deconstructs her collection of historic dresses. Like bodily coverings or fabric shells, the dresses preserve memories of the body, while the lines of poetry hand-embroidered on the beautiful fabric are like a mantra guarding or trying to heal abiding thoughts and memories.

Vēl un vēl (Aivara Eipura dzejolis) (More and More (A Poem by Aivars Eipurs). 1999. Silk, embroidery. 125 x 224 cm

Snieg (It’s Snowing). 1999. Silk, embroidery. 125 x 220 cm