Jānis Kalmīte
Jānis Kalmīte | |
---|---|
Died | 3 July 1996 | (aged 89)
Nationality | Latvian |
Known for | Painting |
Movement | Modernism |
Jānis Kalmīte (2 March 1907,
During the course of his career, Kalmīte participated in over 100 exhibitions in the United States, Canada, Latvia, Germany, Sweden and other European countries. The 100th anniversary of his birth was commemorated in 2007 with a
Kalmīte spent the last 46 years of his life in Minnesota, but was never fully integrated either artistically or socially into American society.[7] His name is virtually unknown in American artistic circles, but within the global Latvian diaspora community his fame grew during his lifetime. After his death a substantial collection of his work was bequeathed to the Valmiera museum,[8] and the Latvian National Museum of Art also possesses a collection of his paintings, including several early pre-war works. His paintings may be found in hundreds of private collections throughout the world, and Gallery Antonija in Rīga[9] represents his work today.
Although his work is strongly nationalistic, Kalmīte was intensely interested in the development of Modernism and he described himself as an expressionist. The work of Vincent van Gogh was a major early influence, and he greatly admired many European modernist artists, such as Rouault, Vlaminck and, in particular, Braque. After immigrating to the United States, he was also influenced by American Abstract Expressionism, and stylistically his late works grew increasingly abstract.[10] Today his work is becoming better known in his homeland, as the history of Latvian diaspora art[11] begins to be absorbed into the overall history of Latvian 20th-century art.
Notes
- ^ Kundziņš, Pauls, Latvju sēta (The Latvian Farmstead) (1974). Sundyberg, Sweden: Daugava, p. 230.
- ^ Sildegs, Arnolds, “In Memoriam,” in American Latvian Artists Association, (2001). United States of America: American Latvian Artists Association, Inc. p. 15.
- ^ "Jānis Kalmīte," Enciklopēdija Latvija un Latvieši, Māksla un Arhitektūra Biogrāfijās (Encyclopedia of Latvia and Latvians, Art and Architecture Biographies), volume 1 (1995). Riga, Latvia: Latvijas Enciklopēdija, p. 231.
- ^ Siliņš, Jānis, "Jānis Kalmīte" in Latvijas māksla 1915-1940 (Art of Latvia 1915-1940) (1990). Stockholm, Sweden: Daugava.
- ^ Latvian National Museum of Art Exhibition Archives 2007, www.vmm.lv/en.
- ^ http://www.americanlatvianartists.org/members/leldekalmite.html. Archived 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
- Minneapolis, MN, October 1978, p. 14.
- ^ Blūma, Iveta, "Valmieras muzejs" in Valmiera domā un rada (Valmiera Thinks and Creates) (2005). Valmiera, Latvia: Valmieras novadpētniecības muzejs, p. 75.
- ^ "Home". antonia.lv.
- ^ Sildegs, Arnolds, "Jānis Kalmīte", Latvju māksla (Latvian Art) volume 22, 1996.
- ^ "Diasporas Makslas Centrs Center for Latvian Diaspora Art". Archived from the original on 2009-10-29. Retrieved 2008-06-20..