Exhibition – Taisija Poluikeviča. Fragile Strength

The exhibition Fragile Strength is a tribute to Taisija Poluikeviča and her multifaceted creative work, her contributions to the design of products at the Riga Porcelain Factory, and her research into the history of Riga porcelain. Taisija Poluikeviča (1937–2002) was one of the leading designers at the Riga Porcelain Factory, specializing in form design and creating original designs and paintings. The exhibition features many of the artist’s mass-market tableware sets—once popular and still recognizable today—including “Marijka,” “Summer,” “Anita,” “Ija,” “Night,” “Karīna,” “Spīdola,” and others, as well as a wide variety of tableware sets, individual items, and souvenirs created from the early 1960s to the late 1980s.

In her designs created for mass production, Taisija Poluikeviča managed to combine the functional with the artistic – the forms were simplified and practical, well-suited to manufacturing technology and everyday use, yet they bore her recognizable individual style. The most visually striking part of the exhibition consists of the artist’s original works, in which her creativity is most vividly revealed – in dinnerware sets, plates, and vases, the sculptural forms are combined with openwork details, the use of lustre, gold, and cobalt, as well as virtuoso painting.

Decorative vase. By Taisija Poluikeviča. 1981. Collection of the Riga Porcelain Museum. Photo: Gvido Kajons / Riga Porcelain Museum.

“Night” coffee set. Designed by Taisija Poluikeviča. 1979. Collection of the Riga Porcelain Museum. Photo: Gvido Kajons / Riga Porcelain Museum.

“Ajoure” tea set. Designed by Taisija Poluikeviča. 1970s. Collection of the Riga Porcelain Museum. Photo: Gvido Kajons / Riga Porcelain Museum.

Decorative plate. Painting by Taisija Poluikeviča. 1980. Collection of the Riga Porcelain Museum. Photo: Gvido Kajons / Riga Porcelain Museum.

Teapot set. Designed by Taisija Poluikeviča. 1967. Collection of the Riga Museum of History and Navigation. Photo: Gvido Kajons / Riga Porcelain Museum.