Maksla XO Gallery was one of the participants of POSITIONS Berlin Art Fair 2025, held as part of Berlin Art Week from September 11–14, 2025. At the fair, the gallery presented MY OWN ROOM, a new solo exhibition by renowned Latvian painter Ieva Iltnere. Among 75 galleries from 18 countries, Maksla XO Gallery received the Zilkens Best Booth Award for its presentation of Iltnere’s solo show MY OWN ROOM.

“There are no rules or laws. Angels are gathered, Saint Sebastian, the reincarnation of Eve, and the Nymphs by Lucas Cranach. Perhaps a miracle will happen, and those expelled from paradise will prevent the Apocalypse” – Ieva Iltnere

Ieva Iltnere’s “My Own Room” is her studio, where characters for paintings are lived and created. “My Own Room” defines a space. This painted dimension characterizes Iltnere’s practice as a painter, and the viewer can get closer to this creative process’s origin. She reveals what inspires her – paintings, books, photographs, design objects, fashion, architecture, and ethno-culture. With her unique talent, Iltnere creates the space within her paintings in a way that suggests the visible scene has existed forever. She has the ability to balance images, objects, and landscapes regardless of their origin and historical period. Iltnere thinks in terms of spatial context, interrupting the planes of a room by bringing together different, sometimes completely opposite, objects. She blends aestheticism, ornamentality, and beauty with a documentation of the era, irony, and social commentary. Her paintings provoke the mind, refusing to allow one to fully trust the senses – everything is perfect, but nothing is in its place. The poetic and metaphorical force of “My Own Room” focuses on the contemplation between life and imagination, existence and artistic creativity.

Ieva Iltnere (1957) is one of the most notable contemporary female painters in Latvia. Her work is characterised by a delicate challenge. She has consistently embraced the centuries-old medium of painting, however her approach remains thoroughly contemporary. Since 1980, she has held 26 solo exhibitions and participated in more than 90 major group exhibitions in Latvia and abroad. Iltnere’s paintings are in public collections: Latvian National Museum of Art (Riga, Latvia), Latvian Artist’s Union Museum (Riga, Latvia), The State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow, Russia), Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Museum of Art, Rutgers University (New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA), Ludwig Museum (Aachen, Germany), European Central Bank Art Collection (Frankfurt, Germany).