At 6 pm on 27 August, the exhibition “žagata” by Latvian painter Katrīna Levāne will open at the creativity center Prãgiedruliai. The Riga-based artist received the Audience Award at the Young Painter Prize competition last year. In Panevėžys, she will present a series of works inviting visitors to take a fresh look at the beauty of everyday life and our relationship with small moments of happiness.
Katrīna Levāne is an emerging Latvian painter whose work explores complex and not always comfortable subjects. Her personal experiences intertwine with mythology, folklore and observations of everyday life, while her paintings are often complemented by elements of installation. In this way, the artist creates a distinctive kind of contemporary folktale in which the viewer becomes part of the narrative.
In 2025, Katrīna graduated from the Art Academy of Latvia with a Bachelor’s degree in Painting. Her work has already received international recognition. In addition to receiving the Audience Award at the Young Painter Prize competition last winter, the artist was also awarded the Grand Prix at the NOBA 2025 Baltic Young Artist Award. Her work has been exhibited in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Italy and Germany.
On what we want to take with us
The exhibition title “žagata” means magpie in Latvian. The bird has long been associated with a tendency to collect and hoard shiny objects and, in Latvian folklore, with the bringing of news.
“When I was little, my mother called me žagata because any shiny object could completely enchant me. I would fill my pockets with sea glass and glitter, lighters borrowed from others and never returned, and rings with the most sparkling stones,” the artist says.
This childhood memory becomes a broader reflection in the exhibition on the human desire to notice, preserve and collect the things that bring us joy. The artist speaks of the small miracles hidden in everyday life — from snowdrops blooming by the roadside and fish scales glistening in the market light, to mist over the fields or the belongings of a loved one.
“Just as a magpie knows how to notice every little miracle, it also wants to take it with it. The desire to collect and preserve a fleeting moment of happiness for later gradually turns into collecting for the sake of collecting. The wings grow heavy, and objects become a form of self-soothing,” K. Levāne says of the idea behind the exhibition.
The exhibition “žagata” at the creativity center Prãgiedruliai (59a Ukmergės St, Panevėžys) will be open until 27 September. Admission is free.