Kristians Brekte

Kristians Brekte (b. 1981) is a Latvian artist, scenographer, and educator whose multidisciplinary practice encompasses painting, watercolour, printmaking, sculpture, objects, installation, scenography, performance, and sound art. A graduate of the Scenography Department at the Art Academy of Latvia, where he earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, he is currently an Associate Professor and Head of the Painting Department at the Academy. Brekte’s work draws on mythology, religion, death and transformation, anatomy, archaeology, and the relationship between humans and nature, resulting in a visually intense and symbolically charged artistic language.

Since his first solo exhibition, Gastronoms (2007), Brekte has presented more than thirty solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group exhibitions in Latvia and internationally. His work has been exhibited at institutions including the Latvian National Museum of Art, Riga Art Space, and the Mūkusalas Art Salon, as well as at art fairs and exhibitions in London, Basel, New York, Miami, Venice, Vilnius, and elsewhere. His solo exhibition Rīgas Madonnas (Riga Madonnas, 2010) was nominated for the Purvītis Prize, and in 2012 he received the Young Foreign Artist (under 35) award at Art Vilnius. Alongside his visual art practice, Brekte has created scenographies for productions in Latvian theatres and, together with Modris Svilāns and Māris Butlers, is a member of the interdisciplinary collective +K+M+B, which produces audiovisual performances and experimental music projects.

Brekte’s works are held in the collection of the Latvian National Museum of Art as well as in significant private collections in Latvia and abroad, including those of Jānis Zuzāns, Guntis Belēvičs, Irina and Māris Vītols, and McKee Gallery in the United States. His practice is characterised by a continual expansion of media and materials, where traditional artistic techniques intersect with a contemporary, provocative, and interdisciplinary approach.