Vija Celmins is an artist whose works ask and surely compel
the viewer to slow down, breath in and absorb her brilliance and subtlety of
technique and style. The photographic feel and look she masters beg to be
studied unlike any other artist working today. She is not loud, bold or
extravagant but the genuine powers of her pieces are transformative. Look at
these works of her hand’s precision, intricacy and exacting measure. She
delivers her grace of being for our understanding and joy.
“There aren't really rules for painting, but there’s certain
facts and fictions about painting. Part of what I do is document another
surface and sort of translate it. They’re like translations, and then part of
it is fiction, which is invention.”
Vija Celmins
The Latvian born Celmins (now living in the United States)
has authored several books including The Painting of Modern Life and The
Stars; a book about her long term obsession with viewing the cosmos. She likes
to think of her paintings as things that she builds rather than paints. Celmins
starts with the construction and preparation of her canvas and sees every step
as integral to the finished piece. She also paints as many as nine layers of paint;
as many as deemed necessary to achieve her desired result.
“Somehow the image
begins to have a sort of memory in it, even if you can't see it. It can build
up a dense feeling toward the end, and then it makes me happier.”
Vija
Celmins
The spider webs, stars and space configurations, still
life’s and ocean surfaces are most often mono-chromes likened to black and
white photos. Vija uses photographs
extensively as reference and she also paints familiar objects from her studio
and home. She uses color sparingly as if
to not distract the viewer from a mental connection of purpose. Her works
displayed in museums, sought by collectors and viewed by the millions are quiet
treasures to behold.
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