Memorial Exhibition of Ceramist Jānis Seiksts

Madona Museum of History and Art invites you to the memorial exhibition of the outstanding ceramics master, artist, and Knight of the Order of the Three Stars Jānis Seiksts (1947-2026), "Jānis Seiksts. Left Flames.".

Jānis Seiksts

The exhibition is conceived as a tribute to a person whose name for more than fifty years has been closely associated with the cultural life of Madona, the traditions of Latvian ceramics, and the personal memories of countless people. It will feature ceramic works by Jānis Seiksts that he had set aside especially for exhibitions in his final years, as well as watercolors, a quieter, less frequently shown, but deeply personal part of the master’s creative work.

Jānis Seiksts’ life story began in Latgale. He was born on September 26, 1947, in the Ludza area, in "Ezernieki" of Mežvidi Parish, into a family of six children. Postwar hardships, his father’s early death, and hard labor in the fields shaped his character, strong, hardworking, and wise in the ways of life. From childhood he carried with him the ability to see beauty in simple things, in people, and in nature.

His artistic path began at the Rezekne boarding school, where the young Jānis’ talent was noticed by teacher, artist, and poet Antons Kūkojs. It was he who encouraged the boy to believe in his abilities and introduced him to the masters of Latgalian ceramics. A single bright green shard of pottery that Jānis once brought home from such a trip became the symbolic beginning of a lifelong passion. In 1968 he graduated from the Ceramics Department of the Rezekne Secondary School of Applied Arts under Polikarps Čerņavskis, also furthering his skills with Antons Ušpelis. After years of work in Jēkabpils and Cēsis, his life path brought him to the Madona region in 1973, which became his true home.

In Madona, Jānis Seiksts worked at the museum, took part in shaping cultural life, taught children and adults, and led ceramics classes in Madona, Dzelzava, and Kusa. For many, he was the first person who let them smell clay, experience the power of fire, and understand that craftsmanship is also a school of patience, character, and love. In his workshop and kiln yard in Madona he created not only ceramic works but also a special meeting place. There he welcomed schoolchildren, tourists, artists, foreign guests, newlyweds, and state delegations. Every visitor was met with stories, humor, hospitality, and a deep conviction about the importance of Latvian traditions.

For most of his life, the master created classical Latgalian glazed ceramics, vases, mugs, bowls, candleholders, and whistle flutes. At the same time, he constantly sought new forms and solutions and experimented creatively. His works brought nature, birds, people, and stories to life. Black ceramics also held a special place. In his watercolors, Jānis’ most delicate and lyrical hand is revealed, landscapes full of silence, moods of light, and observations of nature.

In the exhibition "Jānis Seiksts. Left Flames" , alongside ceramics, the master’s watercolors will also be shown on a larger scale for the first time, allowing visitors to discover yet another essential facet of his personality. They remind us that for Jānis, art never ended at the boundaries of a craft, he was an attentive observer, storyteller, and interpreter of nature’s feelings.

During his lifetime, Jānis Seiksts’ works were exhibited in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Germany, Poland, France, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and elsewhere. His works are held in the collections of the National History Museum of Latvia, the Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum, the Museum of the Latvian Artists’ Union, the Latgale Culture and History Museum, and the Madona Museum of History and Art, as well as in many private collections in Latvia and abroad.

For an outstanding contribution to Latvian culture and the preservation of ceramics traditions, Jānis Seiksts was awarded the Order of the Three Stars in 2018, and in 2019 he received the Ministry of Culture quality mark "Latvian Heritage" and the Honor Diploma and Honor Badge of Madona Municipality.

However, the greatest reward for the master was the people who returned to his workshop again and again, and the hundreds of children who, under his guidance, touched clay for the first time.

The exhibition title "Left Flames" symbolizes not only the fire that burned throughout the master’s life in his kiln. It is the flame he left in his works, his students, his family, his friends, and the cultural life of Madona. It continues to burn even after his passing.

The exhibition will be on view from June 20, 2026, in the attic hall of the Madona Museum of History and Art until September 20, 2026. We invite visitors to come, encounter the legacy left by Jānis Seiksts, and once again experience the master’s presence in the works he created. At the opening of the exhibition, it will be possible to meet Jānis’ family, friends, and other ceramists, and to purchase Jānis’ ceramics.