IMPROVISED
Uģis Auziņš (Latvia)
“We all cherish the landscape of our birthplace – its rhythms and hues, the subtle shifts through the hours and seasons.”
I have spent my entire life learning the art of painting, learning to see and render nature, and even in the twilight of my years, I find myself unable to resist it.”
Uģis Auziņš
The artist paints from nature, an endless source of his creative drive and inspiration. The ever-changing face of nature – the shifting rhythm of the seasons, the play of daylight, the infinite sweep of the sky, the sudden flashes of colour all find their way into the artist’s work. A sensitive observer of the world, he filters it through his artistic vision with a refined sense of colour, turning perception into a physical and emotional encounter.
His canvases are all about the fleeting, evanescent moments. Nature’s beauty and richness pull the viewer in, opening the senses to the breadth of the sky, the rustle of foliage, the caress of the wind, and the eloquence of silence.
Born in Rīga in 1945, Auziņš studied at the Janis Rozentāls Secondary School of Art and later at the Art Academy of Latvia’s Interior Design Department. In the 1970s, he served as Chief Municipal Artist in Daugavpils, joining the Latvian Artists Union in 1976 and leading its local branch from 1978 to 1982.
His exhibition record stretches back to 1971, with over fifty shows in Latvia and abroad. Beyond painting, he has designed interiors for major public buildings. His project for the Daugavpils Civil Registry Office brought the artist the State Prize in Architecture and Construction in 1983. From 1988 to 2012, Auziņš taught at the Drawing Department of the Art Academy of Latvia. His works are held in the Latvian National Museum of Art, the Ādolfs Alunāns Memorial Museum, the Museum of the Latvian Artists Union, the Daugavpils Museum of Local History and Art, and multiple private collections.
Curated by Tatjana Černova
On view at the Rothko Museum from 5 September to 23 November 2025.
Publicity image: Uģis Auziņš. “March”. Acrylic on canvas. 40 x 50 cm. 2024
