Līga Purmale was born in Dundaga in 1948. She honed her talents at the Janis Rozentāls Art High School (1961–1975) before studying painting at the Art Academy of Latvia (1969–1975). During this formative period, she began a new trend of photorealism in Latvian painting.
Embodying counterculture in her artistic practice and her personal lifestyle, Purmale presented her original approach to photography in an early 1974 exhibition. Through constant education and exploration, Purmale has created an individual style of expression and her own conception of the landscape as a subject – be it panoramic views of meadows and forests, landscapes with fog, close-ups of individual details or city life and its rhythms. The artist’s ability to transform reality and enrich it with a variety of effects is what makes her truly shine.
In addition to creating her pictorial corpus, Purmale has worked in graphics and scenography. For the Latvian National Opera, she designed the scenography for Peter Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake (2002) and Adolphe Adam’s ballet Le Corsaire (2003).
In 2004, she received the Diena Annual Culture Award for her solo exhibition Visible World at the Latvian National Museum of Art in Riga, Latvia. In 2018, she received the highest honorary award in Latvia, the Order of the Three Stars.
Among Purmale’s recent solo exhibitions include: Kurzeme, Daugava Gallery, Riga, Latvia (2015); Survey, Riga Gallery, Riga, Latvia (2012); City Tour, Riga Gallery, Riga, Latvia (2009); Variations on the Theme, Riga Gallery, Riga, Latvia (2006–2007); Diary of a Passer-by, Riga Gallery, Riga, Latvia (2005); Visible World, Latvian National Museum of Art, Riga, Latvia (2004); One Summer, Riga Gallery, Riga, Latvia (2003); Games, Riga Gallery, Riga, Latvia (2001); Visible World, Riga Gallery, Riga, Latvia (2000).
Purmale currently lives and works in Riga.
