Marita Liivak (b. 1994) spent the first half of 2025 in the international WIELS residency in Brussels. The Privilege of Introspection is a collection of works created during this period, reflecting the artist’s process of adaptation and her search for a sense of safety within a new mental and physical space.
Safety is a fleeting feeling noticed mainly when it disappears. Liivak’s experience in Brussels revealed how conditional, environment-dependent, and fragile the feeling of safety can be. As external guarantees weaken, both body and mind become more sensitive and anxious. In such circumstances, introspection is not a romantic retreat, but a pressed opportunity to examine one’s fears, needs, and the sources of one’s creative practice, and to bring those findings back onto the canvas.
It is the first time for the artist to exhibit paintings in two contrasting styles side by side. One group is documentary in nature, depicting the outside world as precisely as possible through a process of subtle control. These works came from a longing to find signs of protection and safety within the external environment. Painting attempts to preserve these proofs, allowing the image to carry what cannot be fully possessed in the moment, yet can always be returned to. The other paintings portray the chaos of the inner world, and in their making control is given entirely to the work itself. Liivak allows the painting to guide her, revealing where it wants to go and what it needs in order to get there.
Maria Liivak (1994) is a painter based in Tallinn. Liivak’s practice combines technical skill with intuitive exploration of color and seizing emotion. Her work delves into themes of identity, femininity, and mental health, while also investigating the intersections between personal and public spaces.
Exhibition sounds curated by Maris Pihlap
Text edit by Taavi Prints
Special thanks to: Taavi Prints, Lumi and WIELS
Contact:
www.maritaliivak.com
maritaliivak@gmail.com
Instagram: Maritaliivak
