Until February 15, the gallery Asni is hosting an exhibition by artist and designer Aleksandrs Breže entitled Threshold. It explores the boundaries between the physical and digital worlds, between art and design, form and function. In Aleksandrs’ practice, the digital environment becomes an extension of traditional craftsmanship — a means by which objects and materials acquire new meaning. With an ironic and surreal view of the everyday environment, the artist brings interior objects to life by incorporating various cultural layers into them.
Aleksandrs Breže’s creative work is based on the tension between contemporary art and design. In the exhibition Threshold at the gallery Asni, Aleksandrs presents newly created functional and sculptural objects, which were created using digital technologies, expanding traditional craftsmanship. The symbolic title of the exhibition, Thresholds, refers to a point of transition — the space between the digital and the material, between sculpture and design, between aesthetic experience and functionality. With an ironic and surreal view of the everyday environment, Breže «animates» interior objects, playing with associations and breaking down the boundaries between the traditional and the futuristic.
In realizing his works, Aleksandrs works in both the digital environment and material reality — digitally created structures are transferred into physical form with industrial precision. Moreover, the artist himself controls the entire production process — from the design concept to the finishing touches. The consistently chosen materials — stainless steel, aluminum, and glass — are not a passive backdrop in the artist’s work but active participants that shape forms, influence perception, and contribute to the meaning of the work.
Aleksandrs Breže incorporates various cultural layers into both abstract spatial installations and functional interior objects. His works combine sacred symbolism, the visual aesthetics of the 1990s, subcultural references, and images of virtual space. Flame-like forms, originally based on tribal aesthetics and now a nostalgic reference to the 1990s, have become the foundation of the artist’s visual language over time. Aleksandrs also often refers to childhood memories and images rooted in the collective consciousness. One of these is Zīļuks — a character created by Latvian illustrator and writer Margarita Stāraste, who for many symbolises the innocence and sincerity of childhood. In the sculpture Zīļux, this image takes on a new tone — its gaze reveals irony, playful cunning, and a slight dissatisfaction that characterises the experience of an adult.
The exhibition Threshold is on display at the gallery Asni until February 15. The exhibition was created with the support of the State Culture Capital Foundation.
Aleksandrs Breže (1994) graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam (2018) and the Estonian Academy of Arts in Tallinn (2022), majoring in graphic design. His artistic practice is closely tied to the study of the digital environment and the creation of three-dimensional abstractions that reference the visual aesthetics of the 1990s and utopias of virtual space. Together with artist Armands Freibergs, he leads the Subframe.xyz project, which explores the interrelationships between the human body, the surrounding environment, graphic design, technology, and material science.
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