Vija Celmins

Primarily a painter of still-life and landscape, Vija Celmins (b. 1938, Latvia; moved to the US in 1949) is a major international figure associated with 1960s Pop art. Her unique, technically impeccable paintings and drawings choose as their subject matter 'impossible imagery': from exploding planes [...]
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Primarily a painter of still-life and landscape, Vija Celmins (b. 1938, Latvia; moved to the US in 1949) is a major international figure associated with 1960s Pop art. Her unique, technically impeccable paintings and drawings choose as their subject matter 'impossible imagery': from exploding planes and burning house from her childhood memories in wartorn Latvia; to vast natural landscapes such as open seas, deserts and night skies; to undefinable spaces like the LA freeway; and natural objects, including desert rocks and spider webs. A highly respected figure in contemporary art, Celmins was awarded the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award (in Art) in 1996 and in 2004 is nominated for the Smithsonian's highly prestigious Lucelia Award. Vija Celmins' magnificent artworks all testify to her undying fascination with the world around her - whether the commonplace objects in her studio; the natural landscapes of her adopted California; or the pebbles beneath her feet. Primarily a painter of still-life and landscape, Celmins is associated with 1960s Pop art, and often uses photographs to create her signature 'impossible images', such as just-fired revolvers or exploding airplanes.Temporarily abandoning painting in the 1970s, Celmins turned her attention to drawing exquisite graphite seascapes and other vast natural landscapes. Like the night skies she began in the 1980s, hers are 'unbound spaces...wrestled' into two-dimensions, the artist has said. As with her later spider webs, Celmins often blurs the boundaries of photography, painting, printmaking and drawing. Now based in New York, Celmins has exhibited widely since the 1960s. Her American retrospective travelled to the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; MoCA Los Angeles; the ICA, Philadelphia; Henry Art gallery, University of Washington, Seattle; and Walker Art Center, Minneapolis in 1992-94. 'Vija Celmins Works 1964-1996' travelled to the ICA, London; Museu Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid; Kunstmuseum Winterthur (Switzerland); and the Museum fur Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, in 1997.