“My work is constantly changing, and so am I, through new experiences, conversations and developments following up past initiatives. Nature, people and the myriad things happening all around me are the principal triggers for my creativity located at the juncture of painting and graphic art, although, inevitably, my spirits and creative processes are now materially dampened by the war in Ukraine,” admits the artist, Māris Čačka.
Čačka’s creative output over the past couple of years maps significant finds on his individual artistic journey, leaving meaningful marks in the cultural landscape through numerous powerful exhibitions, where his prolific creative mind keeps developing new forms of expression emerging from earlier compositions. The artist continues to speak about the endless river of information bits and images inundating our perception in a world of countless suspended thoughts, erratic actions and overwhelming temptations.
This theme was especially strong in the author’s largest solo show to date – “Neuro-Pathways”, which ran at the Rīga Art Space exhibition hall in February and March 2022. To quote from its curator, art historian Inga Šteimaine: “Čačka’s work is a palpable visual metaphor for this current state, when an abundance of goals and interferences break out into sudden and surprising reactions, fragmenting and traumatising our ideas, creating an “impossible” technological mix, forgetting historical boundaries and forming unprecedented hybrids. Our ancient brains, which have humanised us by their tendency to perceive the “insignificant,” continue to do so today, but in the age of technology, the information flow becomes disproportionate and keeps “hurling” our minds through thousands of neuro-pathways.”
How far do these pathways go, and what is their topography in the artist’s creative output? The question remains open, but one thing is clear – Čačka stays true to his chosen path and direction and keeps producing striking visual records of his artistic thought and subconscious insights.
Zane Melāne
Māris Čačka’s solo exhibition NOTES is on display from 18 January till 1 April 2023 at the MIKC Daugavpils Design and Art Secondar School “Saules Skola”
Opening of exhibition: January 18 at 1PM
SIVIA 