'Seascape with Big Stones', 1989 Oil on canvas 18 by 24 in
born 1928
Uldis Zemzaris was born in Melluzi, Latvia, a summer holiday
hotspot and popular fishing village, which undoubtedly left a
definite mark on the artist’s work. Zemzaris’ paintings
demonstrate a preoccupation with the subject of fishermen--
their life, work and love for the sea. In 1955, Zemzaris
graduated from the Latvian State Academy of Art in Riga.
During the early years of his career as a painter, he studied
the Belgian art collection in the Museum of Fine Arts in
Riga, as well as the French Impressionists and Post
Impressionists at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. In his
long career, Uldis has illustrated books, painted murals for
public buildings and worked as a stage designer in Riga’s
Dallies Theatre for two consecutive years; all of this while
drawing people and painting landscapes. In the 1970s,
inspired by the patriarch of the 1960’s Moscow underground
community Ullo Sooster, Uldis produced an exceptional
series of surrealist paintings. In the recent years, he has
been focusing on landscape painting, which has become
his true pride and accomplishment. Uldis has participated
in international shows that have included his 1982 solo
exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Sydney.
