Ouriel Morgensztern first encountered Mark Rothko’s impressive output while living in New York City and discovered Pierre Soulages’ extraordinary body of work when he visited the museum dedicated to his oeuvre in Rodez, France.

He developed a particular and personal connection to both artists in his own creativity and remains deeply fascinated by their use of light, the profound properties of black as a reflective colour, Mark Rothko’s “Black on Grey” paintings from his later creative period and, obviously, the most emblematic pieces by Pierre Soulage (such as “L’Outre Noir”).

Ouriel Morgensztern’s photography is heavily rooted in abstraction, with a strong fascination for architecture.

This exhibition at the Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre is the result of the encounter between and with Mark Rothko and Pierre Soulages.

From New York to the Chapel in Houston (Rothko), to Rodez and the Abbey in Conques (Soulages), and through photos of more personal places in Los Angeles, Tel-Aviv, the French countryside – where Morgensztern is from – and Daugavpils, it emerges a force nourished by the power of the image in its raw state, which designates Ouriel Morgensztern as a great.

Exhibition partner: Valsts Kulturkapitala Fonds | The City of Daugavpils | Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre, Daugavpils, Latvia | Institut Français de Riga | Rothko. Chaptel | Pierre Soulages Museum Rodez | Caparol | Devona