Ernest Sabine, a Latvian-American artist born and raised in the United States to a Latvian mother and American father, spent nearly a month this month at the Studija art space residency in Kuldīga, Latvia, developing the project “Between Two Breaths,” kurzemnieks.lv reported.
The residency, held in the space of artist Maija Rudovska, gave Sabine room to research, experiment and follow a creative process without limiting or criticizing himself, he said. He had visited Latvia six or seven times since his first trip at age 22, but this was his first time in Kuldīga.
A Grandfather’s Wartime Photograph Anchors the Work
The project draws on a black-and-white photograph Sabine’s grandfather took during World War II before fleeing Latvia. The image shows a birch grove in Bērzaune reflected in the still waters of Brencēnu Lake near Madona. Sabine’s mother told the story repeatedly, and at 22 Sabine traveled with relatives through forest and swampy terrain, at times wading through water, to find the exact spot.
“My grandfather was a good photographer, he photographed a lot,” Sabine said. “During the war they fled with what they had on their backs, but they took the pictures with them.” The family passed through Germany to a displaced persons camp before reaching America.
Childhood Jars Inspire Linen Installation
The works created in Kuldīga are black and white. Sabine, who usually paints in vivid colors, said he wanted to focus on form and idea this time. An abstract painting grew from small sketches inspired by the birch photograph, and photographs from a trip to Pāvilosta are also part of the showing.
An installation places jars filled with wound linen ribbons on a platform covered in white linen. The piece connects to a childhood memory: at age five or six, Sabine opened a basement door his mother had forbidden and found jars of preserves dating back 50 or 60 years, kept from his great-grandmother.
From New York Fashion to Latvian Canvas
Before painting, Sabine worked in New York’s fashion business, founding the men’s clothing brand Ernest Alexander and creating visual identities and campaigns for other labels. He said Kuldīga offered a contrast to New York’s pace, with wide fields, Latvian spoken around him, and room to work alone close to nature and family stories. His Latvian, learned at a weekend school in childhood, became freer during the stay.
Silk Prints Planned for Kurzeme Scenes
Sabine plans to print photographs taken in Kuldīga and elsewhere in Kurzeme onto silk that can be washed and treated with ink to create a special wrinkled texture, a technique he tested on works shown during the residency.
“In fashion design you always have to think about buyers,” Sabine said. “Here I can create from the heart what I want and feel, I can go my own way.”
Locating Sabine’s Ancestral Birch Grove
Where is the place in Sabine’s grandfather’s photograph?
The birch grove in Bērzaune stands beside Brencēnu Lake near Madona. Sabine and relatives reached it at age 22 by walking through forest and swampy terrain, at times wading through water to reach roads.
What is Ernest Alexander?
Ernest Alexander is the men’s clothing brand Sabine founded in New York before turning to painting, where he also designed visual identities and advertising campaigns for other brands.
Why did Sabine work in black and white in Kuldīga?
Sabine said he wanted to concentrate on form, memory and feeling rather than color, starting with small sketches of the birch photograph before moving to a large abstract canvas; he plans to return to vivid colors in future works.
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