VISVALDIS ZIEDINS (1942 -2007) rediscovered non-conformist artist during Soviet Latvia times. He lived and worked in Liepāja (USSR Latvia).
education:
From 1959 till 1964 Ziedins attended the Department of Decorative Design at Liepāja School of Applied Art. He did not enter the Latvian Academy of Art because he was confident that the acquired professional foundation is sufficient to devote his further life to creative investigations, independent from the official Soviet art system.
exhibitions:
2019 “Back to the future“, careva gallery
2015 Exhibition and international symposium "Visvaldis Ziedins. Travels in the Imagination." (curators: Eleanor Heartney, Ieva Kalnina), American University Museum in Vashington, in connection with Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
2014 Exhibition "Kustiba. Visvaldis Ziedins”, Contemporary Art Museum of Estonia “KUMU” (curator Ieva Kalnina)
2013 Exhibition "Bezdibenis. Visvaldis Ziedins" (curator Ieva Kalnina), Madonas Regional and Art Museum
Exhibition "Bezdibenis. Visvaldis Ziedins" (curator Ieva Kalnina), Cesis Exhibition Hall, in connection with Art Festival of Cesis
2012 Exhibition "Kustiba. Visvaldis Ziedins" (curator Ieva Kalnina–Kulakova), Arsenals Exhibition Hall of the Latvian National Museum of Art
2009 Exhibition of artworks of Visvaldis Ziedins at gallery of Ivonna Veiherte in Riga
2008 Memorial exhibition of Visvaldis Ziedins “Metamorphosis”, Liepaja Museum
1992 Solo exhibition at Liepaja Latvian Society house
1986 Group show together with the artist Peteris Sidars at the Peter the First house - an affiliate of Liepaja Art and History Museum
1978 Solo exhibition in the studio of Visvaldis Ziedins in Liepaja (during the Art days)
1970 Group show together with the artist Albert Betuzs-Bertuzs in the foyer of State Theatre in Liepaja
After Visvaldis Ziedins died, a surprising quantity of artworks was discovered in his studio at No. 2 Ostas iela in Liepaja: about 3000 drawings, paintings and objects. Moreover, it is known from the artist’s records that he regularly reviewed them and from time to time also destroyed the ones he regarded as failures. This means that he was working on his ‘artifications’ on a daily basis.
Chronologically, the works in Visvaldis Ziedins’ collection span the period from 1958 to 2006. More than a third were created in the 60s. However, some of his work from the 60s has subsequently been reworked or augmented. The 70s were an ebb period in terms of creative energy in Ziedins’ art, when he was only a third as productive as in the previous decade. But the 80s saw a new blossoming of creativity, and this part of the collection corresponds to approximately half the number of works created in the 60s. The fewest works, approximately ten percent of the total, were created in the 90s and at the beginning of the 21st century (extract from “Movement. Visvaldis Ziedins” by Ieva Kulakova, Riga: Galerija 21, 2012)
Visvaldis Ziedins, “Composition with model“ (“Kompozīcija ar modeli“), 1987
Visvaldis Ziedins, “Self- portrait“ (“Pašportrets“), 1990ies -2000s
Visvaldis Ziedins, “Female torso“ (“Sieviešu torss“)
Visvaldis Ziedins, “Composition with flat can“ (“Kompozīcija ar saplacinātu bundžu“), 2001
Visvaldis Ziedins, “Materialized feelings“ (“Materializētas sajūtas“), 1980ies
Visvaldis Ziedins, “Vase of fertility“ (“Auglības vāze“), 1980ies
Visvaldis Ziedins, “Vase of fertility“ (“Auglības vāze“), 1980ies
Visvaldis Ziedins, "Sail" (“Bura“)
Visvaldis Ziedins, “Lighthouse“ (“Bāka“), 1980ies
Visvaldis Ziedins, “Shovel with stones and hand“ (“Šķipele ar akmeņiem un roku“), 1980ies
Visvaldis Ziedins, “Composition with bottle box“ (“Kompozīcija ar pudeļu kasti“), 1980ies