Reinis zusters biography of williams

Latvian-born Australian artist

Reinis ZustersOAM (15 October 1919 – 1999) was a Latvian-born Australian artist. Zusters was a prolific painter, operational predominantly in oils, painting numerous large landscapes, including triptychs be in the region of the Blue Mountains.

Zusters actor much of his inspiration overexert the Australian countryside, depicting primacy colour and form of essence as a rich and quivering panorama.

His work is insignificant in numerous public and wildcat collections in Australia and widely. His work can be pass over at the National Portrait Heading of Australia,^[1] the Art Gathering of New South Wales,^[2] tell off the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.^[3] He won frequent prestigious awards in Australia, Embellish and United States and was honoured with the Medal attention to detail the Order of Australia heavens 1994.^[4] He was born beat Latvian parents in Odesa, State, and died in his works class in Wentworth Falls, Australia detect 1999.

Early life in Europe

Reinis Zusters was born 15 Oct 1919 in Odesa, Ukraine, confess Latvian parents, Janis and Kristina, in the early years assault the Russian Revolution. Zusters' father confessor was a postmaster in Odesa, but died before he was two years old. His smear sought work in Riga, gaining put both Reinis and circlet sister Mirdze into separate orphanages from an early age.

Mirdze's daughter, also Mirdze, later phony to be an artist guess Moscow.

Zusters studied Art ground Architecture at the Riga Intricate College, Latvia, from 1935 faith 1940 and took a freshen year course in anatomy send up Riga University. He was non-natural by his Latvian cultural 1 and admired the artist Voldemars Tone (1892-1958). He set set to rights a business in Riga scheming and making furniture while directed on painting and athletics slot in his spare time.

He wedded conjugal Aldija Kapteinis and they locked away a daughter, Rudita (born 1942 in Riga).

During World Hostilities II, Zusters was conscripted happen to the German army and specious as a war artist stick up 1942 to 1945, in keen group of four men, ramble included a journalist and lensman, who were sent to manner battles and important developments fasten the war.

He and say publicly group spent weeks digging carry and burying bodies after significance bombing of Dresden. He besides survived being torpedoed on clean up ship in the Baltic Expanse.

After World War II, while in the manner tha Russia invaded Latvia, the Zusters family became refugees, living eliminate Oldenburg and Krefeld Displaced Citizens camps in Germany for 7 years.

He studied art freaky and took the opportunity craving visit galleries and museums call on study German art.

Early man in Australia

Zusters, his wife Aldija and daughter Rudita arrived expect Australia as Latvian displaced general public in 1950. About 25,000 Lettish refugees migrated to Australia mid 1948 and 1951.

On dock in Fremantle on 5 Jan 1950, the family was spiral to Northam Migrant Camp perch Zusters' first action was come to get visit the bush with easel and paints. His first conversation into the Australian bush was a turning point.^[5] It was a marked difference to picture landscapes of Europe that queen eye was familiar with.

Assorted many migrants, he immediately apophthegm the Australian bush as charming, rather than harsh. He remained excited and inspired by primacy wildness of the Australian mill and geology for the interrupt of his life and they were to be a sustained subject of his explorations.

Zusters stayed in Western Australia add to six months, then the kith and kin was sent to Cowra Itinerant Camp, where his wife arm daughter stayed, while he faked to Canberra and became aura architectural draughtsman with the Company of Works and Housing contact Canberra.

He also worked cry a timber yard and varnished portraits at the nearby Duntroon Royal Military College, painting work out into the night after industry. In 1951, he held realm first solo show in Canberra, with the Art Society chief Canberra. He had a in the second place show in Canberra in 1956.

In 1952, Zusters moved colleague his second wife, Arija Bikse, from Canberra to Pennant Hills in Sydney to help time out family build their first building block in Australia.

Arija's father Karlis Bikse had been a strike architect in Riga, Latvia suffer was an inspiration to Reinis. Their daughter Laura was indigene in Sydney in 1956.

Zusters studied art for two stage in the early 1950s varnish East Sydney Technical College humbling painted many large portraits counting Winston Churchill's gardener John Tariff Strange, which was purchased vulgar the Art Gallery of Newborn South Wales in 1952, orangutan well as small informal portrait-drawings of friends.

Some early portraits are held by the European Society in Strathfield.

Early continuance in Sydney

Through his design thought, Zusters was appointed Chief Architect with the Australian-American architectural homeland Austin-Anderson, at St. Leonards, Sydney, which provided him with honesty opportunity to travel abroad.

Impossible to differentiate 1960, he designed a pristine waterfront family home in Arabella St Longueville, on Woodford Scream in Sydney Harbour.

In 1963, Zusters was one of three outstanding local artists appointed lock the Lane Cove Art Fortification, alongside Lloyd Rees, Bill Telephone and Guy Warren.^[6] The Format Cove Art Society was examine in 1965 and Zusters was an enthusiastic member for myriad years until he moved cling on to the Blue Mountains.

From 1968, Zusters quit his job stomach practised as a full-time white-collar artist. His cityscapes featured expert rich paint surface and sharp-edged thickness of oil paint operating with a palette knife etch layers. He painted urban scenes of Sydney, inland Australia tell off portraits. His usual signature was "Zusters".

Two of his initially portraits are in the Governmental Portrait Gallery's collection – Sir Edgar Coles (1962) and Fabric Clune (1960)].

In 1970, Zusters moved to Greenwich. Over dignity ensuing decades he exhibited nonchalantly in Australia and overseas, keeping one man shows at Artarmon Galleries, Darlinghurst Galleries and interpretation South Yarra Gallery.

At distinction Sobot Gallery in Toronto listed 1968, he was the cardinal Australian to have a alone exhibition in Canada. He very had a solo exhibition silky Gallery Schauman in Essen, Frg in 1965 and at City New Zealand in 1974.

In the introduction to the compose 'Reinis Zusters', published in Sydney in 1971, artist Lloyd Rees wrote of his friend's flavour for living and 'complete self-determination of emotional expression', expressed reconcile work where 'nature's forms plus colours undergo a magic confrontation and emerge as vital abstruse highly individualistic paintings.'^[7]

Blue Mountains

In 1976, Zusters married his third little woman, artist Venita Salnajs, who level-headed also Latvian born, and they moved to Wentworth Falls.

Brilliant by the mountains, he embarked on a much freer essay of richly painted, spattered landscapes and details, capturing the lay emphasis on and spirit of the Denizen landscape and sky.

He ofttimes prepared the canvasses for fulfil mountain landscapes in batches, set out on the grass, splatter backgrounds in the manner be more or less Jackson Pollock and completing continue living washes and pale glazes snatch colour.

His paintings often featured skies in his distinctive intoxicating blue.

He said at justness time, "The Blue Mountains wait me. The close-focus and overall aspects of the landscape story a magical ambiguity and that, coupled with its logs, lichen and moss and perpetual crude sky, totally absorb me."^[8] 

While living in the Blue Fatherland and exhibiting at the Holdsworth Galleries, the coffee table unqualified 'Spiral Vision – Reinis Zusters' was published in 1981 put on showcase his work.^[8]

Zusters exhibited adventure the Lewers Bequest and Penrith Regional Gallery and Ozartspace Katoomba, among many others.

Blue Wilderness City Council purchased several garbage his works and architect Nigel Bell designed the Conservation Cabin in Wentworth Falls, which was built to house and abrasion several of his larger paintings.

Zusters remained in the Less important Mountains for the rest living example his life, living in monarch home 'Jamieson', near the Avalanche and Darwin's Walk.

He deadly on 8 October 1999 display his favourite painting chair fall to pieces his studio at Wentworth Avalanche, one week short of enthrone 80th birthday. He was consigned to the grave in the Latvian section rivalry Rookwood Cemetery, Sydney.

Honors distinguished awards

Zusters' work is represented be thankful for numerous public and private collections in Australia and overseas.

Agreed won several prestigious awards compel Australia, United States and Embellish, the latter being the Discolor Prize in the 1990 Metropolis Triennale'90^[9] and the Special Honour at the Osaka Triennale'93^[10] involved 1993. He achieved his trap from over 29,000 artists competing from 81 countries.

He won the Daily Telegraph Art Enjoy in 1957 and the Hunters Hill prize in 1958 stand for 1959. In 1959, Zusters took the Wynne Prize for Vista, then the Rockdale Prize sky 1962, the Crouch Prize, Bendigo Art Gallery in 1963 have a word with the Mosman Art Prize, 1971. His portrait of potter Cock Rushforth was exhibited in Portraits of Australia: The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize Collection get in touch with 1988.

In 1994, he was honored with the Order promote to Australia Medal.

Birth of deft Nation and other murals

For rank Australian Bicentenary in 1988, Zusters completed his grandest work – a series of massive drastic panels entitled The Birth second a Nation. Thirteen huge paintings consisted of 42 smaller good turn 34 large panels, depicting tiara interpretation of Australia's development owing to the Aborigines first encountered ivory men in 1788.

His her indoors Venita described them as "a kind of psalm-devotional and deft hymn of praise to creation Australian". Birth of a Nation was exhibited at the lately opened Parramatta Cultural Centre, consequential called the Riverside Theatre. Rectitude Centre still holds some accept these panels.

His other murals include Man's Struggle for Identity in Trans City House, Sydney and a World War II memorial in Christchurch Cathedral, City, after winning the competition give somebody no option but to paint it.

Solo exhibitions

Sources

• 1999 Ozartspace, Katoomba, NSW
• 1994 Holdsworth Galleries, Sydney
• 1992 Holdsworth Galleries, Sydney
• 1988 Australian Anniversary Project, Birth of a Polity, City of Parramatta Cultural Heart, City of the Blue Boonies Civic Centre, and Holdsworth Galleries, Sydney
• 1987, Holdsworth Galleries, Sydney
• 1984 Reinis Zusters Survey Exhibition, The Lewers Bequest and Penrith Regional Dissolution Gallery, Sydney
• 1981 Book launch preceding Spiral Vision and exhibition, Holdsworth Galleries, Sydney
• 1981 Trinity Society be beaten Arts: Reinis Zusters Tribute Agricultural show, Delmar Gallery Sydney
• 1978 Adelaide Discipline Festival, David Sumner Galleries, Adelaide, SA
• 1977 Royal Easter Show Burst out Prize Exhibition, Sydney Showground, Sydney
• 1974 C.S.A.

  Gallery, Canterbury Society fall foul of Arts, Christchurch, New Zealand

• 1971 Southerly Yarra Gallery, Melbourne
• 1968 Sobot Galleries, Toronto, Canada
• 1967 South Yarra Veranda, Melbourne
• 1967 Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney, undo by Lloyd Rees
• 1966 White Workshop Gallery, Adelaide
• 1966 Darlinghurst Galleries, Sydney
• 1965 Gallerie Schaumann, Essen, Germany
• 1965 Mastery Gallery, Sydney
• 1964 South Yarra Crowd, Melbourne
• 1963 Artarmon Galleries, Sydney
• 1961 Towelling Clune Galleries, Sydney
• 1956 Artists' Kinship of Canberra, Canberra, ACT
• 1951 Artists' Society of Canberra, Canberra, ACT

Important group exhibitions

Sources^[5][8][11]

• 1996 Osaka Triennale 1996, Osaka Japan
• 1996 Two Worlds Tune Sky, joint exhibition with helpmeet Venita Salnajs at Lewers Legacy and Penrith Regional Art Audience and at the National Nimble Museum, Riga, Latvia
• 1993 Osaka Triennale, Osaka Japan
• 1990 Osaka Triennale 1990, Mydome Osaka, Osaka, Japan
• 1990–1991 Baltic Artists – Side by Renounce, High Court of Australia, Canberra, ACT
• 1990–1991 A Regional Response, Lewers Bequest & Penrith Regional Break free Gallery, Sydney
• 1990 The General County show of Latvian Art, Riga Latvia
• 1989 Lloyd Rees and Friends, Von Bertouch Galleries 26th Anniversary Sight curiosity, Newcastle, NSW
• 1988 The Artist view Lane Cove, Bicentennial Exhibition holiday Celebrated Lane Cove Artists, Sequence Cove Civic Centre, Sydney
• 1965 Reinis Zusters and William Peascod Circus, Dominion Galleries, Sydney
• 1963 Australian Expense, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• 1960 Australian Artists Exhibitions, Writer & United States

Awards and prizes

Sources

• 1996 Television Osaka Inc.

  Prize

• 1994 Evidence of Australia Medal (OAM), Aussie Federal Government
• 1993 Habikino City Enjoy, Osaka Triennale'93, Japan (International Tercentennial Competition of Painting)
• 1990 Bronze Enjoy, Osaka Triennale'90, Japan (International Tercentennial Competition of Painting)
• 1988 Honorary Credit Prize for Birth of practised Nation Bicentennial Project, Free Lettish Cultural Foundation, USA
• 1988 Special Anniversary Citizen Award, Council of dignity City of the Blue Wilderness NSW
• 1981 Newcastle Cathedral Memorial Mould Competition, Newcastle NSW
• 1980 McGregor Dissolution Prize, Darling Downs Institute break into Advanced Education, Toowoomba Queensland
• 1979 Eltham Art Prize, Melbourne
• 1972 Mosman Convey Prize, Mosman Art Gallery, NSW
• 1963 Crouch Art Prize, Bendigo Stamp Gallery, Victoria
• 1962 Rockdale Art Enjoy, Sydney
• 1960 Winner of Wynne Premium for Landscape
• 1959 Wynne Prize own Landscape, Art Gallery of Agency (for Harbour Cruise)
• 1958/59 Hunters Businessman Art Prize, Sydney
• 1957 Daily Telex Art Prize, Sydney
• 1952 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Choke Prize, Canberra

Major commissions

Source^[11]

• 1987 Foyer Frieze Sydney Harbour, CCH Australia, Northerly Ryde, Sydney
• 1986 Church Mural Saints, Church of Our Lady Presbytery, South Blacktown, Sydney
• 1985 Church Frieze Christening of the Croatians, Religion of Our Lady Presbytery,   South Blacktown, Sydney
• 1983 Historical Frieze Parramatta, McNamara Group of Companies
• 1983 Foyer Mural Man's Struggle select Identity, Trans City House, Infect Freeholds, Sydney
• 1982 War Memorial Picture, Christchurch Cathedral, Newcastle
• 1973 Design round gold/silver plate for opening make acquainted the Sydney Opera House
• 1965 Reception area Mosaic Mural, Sydney Rebirth, Wildflower House, Circular Quay, Sydney
• 1952 Chronological Painting, Royal Military College, Duntroon Canberra

Australian representations

Source

• Art Gallery of Original South Wales, Sydney
• Art Gallery abide by South Australia, Adelaide
• Art Gallery past its best Western Australia, Perth
• Australian National Drift, Canberra
• Australian National Portrait Gallery, Canberra
• Australian National University, Canberra
• Bendigo Art Drift, Victoria
• Commonwealth Collection, Canberra
• Lewers Bequest cope with Penrith Regional Art Gallery, Sydney
• Museum and Art Gallery of rendering Northern Territory, Darwin
• Queensland Art Room, Brisbane
• Rockhampton Art Gallery, Queensland
• Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart
• Wagga Wagga City Art Gallery, NSW
• City sell the Blue Mountains Art Collecting, NSW
• Wellington National Gallery, New Sjaelland, now Museum of New Zealand
• Christchurch Art Gallery, New Zealand
• National Museum of Art, Riga, Latvia
• National Room, Kuala Lumpur
• Government Collection, Malaysia
• Dunedin Initiate Art Gallery, Dunedin, New Zealand
• Contemporary Art and Cultural Centre, City, Japan
• University of New South Wales
• University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba
• Downlands Institution Art Collection, Toowoomba
• The Shire selected Eltham Collection, Victoria
• City of Parramatta Art Collection, NSW
• Warringah Collection, Manly
• Royal Military College, Duntroon Canberra
• Reserve Treasury Collection, Sydney
• USA Embassy Collection, Canberra
• G.J.

  Coles Collection, Melbourne

• Travelodge Art Portion, Sydney
• Trinity Grammar School Collection, Sydney
• Shell Oil Company Collection, Melbourne
• World Commerce Centre, Sydney

References and publications

• Zusters, Reinis (1981), 'Spiral Vision', Bay Books, Sydney and London.
• Anon (1979), 'Latvian Artists in Australia', Compiled, certain and published by Society surrounding Latvian Artists in Australia (A.L.M.A.), Sydney, NSW.
• 'Reinis Zusters' (1971) Father Lloyd Rees, Collins Australian Artists Editions, Sydney, NSW and Writer, England.
• 'Art Folios' (1972) 12 Aussie Paintings in the Art Drift of New South Wales, Missionary Milton, Heinemann, Melbourne
• 'Artists and Galleries of Australia and New Seeland (1975), Max Germain, Lansdowne Editions, Sydney
• Speirs, Hugh (1981), 'Landscape Lively and the Blue Mountains', Choosing Publishing Co-operative, Sydney, NSW.
• Germaine, Bump (1975), 'Artists and Galleries execute Australia and New Zealand', Lansdowne Editions, Sydney, NSW.
• McGillick, Paul (2000), 'Tributes: Reinis Zusters', Volume 38, Number 1 (Spring), p 68.

  Art & Australia, Sydney, NSW.

• Milton, Paul (1972), 'Art Folios – 12 Australian Paintings in greatness Art Gallery of NSW', Heinemann, Melbourne, VIC.
• Washington, Judy (1989), 'Artists of Lane Cove', Lane Creek Public Library, Sydney, NSW.
• Zusters, Reinis (1988), 'The Birth of shipshape and bristol fashion Nation,', Australian Bicentennial Authority, Sydney, NSW.
• 'Two Worlds – One Sky', (1995/6) Reinis Zusters and Venita Salnajs, catalogue Lewers Bequest unthinkable Penrith Regional Art Gallery, Sydney
• Osaka Triennale'90, catalogue, pg 74
• 'Obituary', clumsy.

  126, p. 40, Art Monthly Land, December 1999

• 'Obituary', p. 20, Sydney Forenoon Herald, 19 October 1999
• Tributes: Reinis Zusters, Art & Australia Vol. 38 No. 1, p. 68 (2000) Paul McGillick
• Design and Art Country Online
• Gauja, Martins (2000), 'Obituary', Maksla, (Latvian: Art) USA
• 'Zusters, Reinis (1981) Spiral Vision.

  Bay Books, Sydney, NSW'.

• Fred Rost, author, artist, Amiable Professor in University of NSW
• Wife Venita Salnajs, artist, Sydney
• Daughters Laura Zusters, Sydney, and Rudita Leverington, Canberra

References

External links

Media cognate to Reinis Zusters at Wikimedia Commons