Next month White will join the symposium and draw upon the heritage of Mark Rothko’s birthplace and contribution to cultural life of Latvia to create new works of art.

The symposium draws from both international and European-based artists and will take place at The Rothko Centre at the historic Arsenale Fortress from the 11-22 September, 2017.

The symposium ends with an exhibition of all the symposium artists’ work on September 22.

White is an Australian visual artist who studied at the National Art School in Sydney and is a former Shoalhaven High School student.

He has worked and lived in Paris since 2009 and has held solo exhibitions in Sydney, Paris, London and Hong Kong.

“The symposium will enable me to participate in discussions with artists and curators, questioning the role and relevance of the philosophical content of Rothko’s ideas,” White said from his Paris home.

He will also deliver a paper on his practice, analysing why Rothko’s ideas are contemporary and relevant and how they overlap and inform his own practice.

“I intend to use this platform to discuss issues around the changing role of visual artists within an industry which has changed much over the last ten years,” he said.

The symposium and residency will provide both the opportunity to discuss and analyse Rothko’s legacy and issues relevant to contemporary visual artists and to create new work.

Predominantly a painter, White has been awarded a number of international commissions and residencies and has had a solo exhibition at Le Pave D’Orsay, Paris.

As an artist, White draws from diverse influences including the works of Picasso,Braque, Auerbach and recently Kiefer, Jonathan Meese and Joseph Beuys. 

“Early on I was influenced by artists of stylistic similarities but now these are not as important as ideas themselves.

“These are the things that stay around even longer than the finished work,” White said.