🍸 In the middle of summer, on July 16th, we invite you to celebrate in the Zuzeum parking area and on the rooftop terrace Kork Bar. We will mark the arrival of summer with the unveiling of a sculpture by artist Aigars Bikše.
📅 Tuesday, July 16, 7PM – 10PM
📍Zuzeum Parking area and Rooftop Terrace
🎟️ Free admission
Team Zuzeum and Aigars Bikše invite you to the presentation of the sculpture The Thinker on Tuesday, July 16th at 19:00 in the Zuzeum parking lot. After the presentation, guests are invited to join the celebration on the Zuzeum rooftop terrace Kork Bar.
Aigars Bikše (1969, Latvia). The Thinker. 2023. Polished stainless steel. 270 x 84 x 80 cm
Thinker is someone who thinks about who they are as a person. Who does he want to be? What is his sexuality? What is his role in society?
Over the last hundred years, it is women’s understanding of themselves – their bodies, their right to self-determination and their place in society that has rapidly changed. Much has been thought, spoken and written about this matter. Quieter discussions are taking place about how these changes affect men, who have to find new ways of thinking about how to define themselves and express their sexuality. The 19th century ‘Thinker’ by Auguste Rodin, frozen in a static pose with his massive, muscular body, radiates physical strength and power. In contrast, Aigars Bikše’s ‘Thinker’, blossoming like a flower, radiates not physical strength but an inner power of self-awareness. By rejecting the old, traditionally masculine way of thinking, people are moving towards a new, more honest relationship with themselves and with others.
Aigars Bikše (1969) is a professor at the Latvian Academy of Arts and one of the curators of the Sculpture Quadrennial Riga. He organizes interdisciplinary cultural projects with the Art Management and Information Center (MMIC) as its founder and director. One of the artist’s best known works is the sculpture ‘Two Rainis’ dedicated to Jānis Pliekšāns, located near the National Library of Latvia. He has participated in international projects in Europe, the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale in Japan (2006), the Rauma Biennale in Finland (2012), and others.
Aigars Bikše engages with various historically significant themes and is interested in social and political topics. His sculptures, primarily found in public urban areas, have often provoked a public response with their unconventional expression and open-minded approach to historical myths.
*By attending this event, you agree to have photos or videos of you or your children taken for Zuzeum marketing purposes. You can refuse to be photographed or filmed by informing the photographer or camera person.