Biography
Becoming a painter was a surprise and discovery for Una Lekuze herself. As a child she did not attend art school and actually her life wasnāt related to the art world. She couldnāt even imagine that she could express herself in this field. Studied at Riga Secondary School No. 3 and was one of the best students ā represented the school at various olympiads and competitions. At school visual arts teacher praised Unaās drawing skills and talent. At the age of 17 she started attending drawing classes at famous Latvian painter KÄrlis DobrÄjs (1943) studio. Although she did not take it seriously, it was more like a hobby and a way of spending free time, and also it helped to break away from the intense studying process at high school.
Despite the visual arts teacherās positive compliments and studies at KÄrlis DobrÄjs studio, Una had decided very seriously to study law after graduating from high school and planned to go to China. However, at the last minute before enrolling at the university, Una changed the study program from to law to Japanese, because as a revelation was born the idea that she has to become a painter. The choice in favour of language studies was a strategic decision to better prepare for the entrance examination at the Art Academy of Latvia. It would be a quite difficult to combine intensive studies in law with painting. Una approached to KÄrlis DobrÄjs as one of her first teacher of painting with a request to train her more systematically and with an academic approach. The aim was not only to prepare well for admission to the academy but also to be able to work independently and in high level. For the fist time, she was not admitted in academy, but Una did not give up, a year later tried again and she did it, she was successfully admitted to the Painting Department. As one the most important lecturer in academy Una mentions Latvian painter Imants Vecozols (1933) who provided important knowledge about the basic principles of classical painting.
Along with her studies at the academy Una quickly started working in her specialty. She worked on private commissions, sold her works at the student exhibition and art fair Jarmarka, one of the first clients were KÄrlis DobrÄjs' students and friends. Una is also an academic drawing and painting instructor and has been doing it since the age of 21, and working with her own students. As a lecturer Una's goal is that student really get the benefit from the whole studying process and feel satisfied when the student understands what is being done and how it should be done.
Artistic Style
The painter is close to Asia especially Chinese culture, and likes the ornamentals of the region. These elements also appear in Una's painting language, she likes oriental colour combinations, floral motifs and chinoiserie style. Understanding and aspiring for the Oriental is very personal and through her own view, like Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) and other Art Nouveau painters had their own version of the East. Art Nouveau and Art Deco aesthetic motifs also appear in Una's creative manner, her one of the favourite painters is the Queen of Art Deco Tamara Lempicka (1898-1980). In turn works from the early stage of Unaās career were philosophical and gloomy, dominated dark tonality, as Una herself says: "Caravaggio without light." The genius painter of the Baroque period is also one of the sources of inspiration ā the light and shades manner, the majestic monumentality, the accuracy of the drawing and some Caravaggioās motifs can also be found in Una's work. Also very close are Flemish painting, Medieval motifs and the Renaissance, and Latvian painting shortly after World War II. Una calls herself the "silent admirer" of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867), Hans Holbein der JĆ¼ngere (1497-1543), and John Vermeer (1632-1675). From the contemporary art scene, she fascinates the personality and avant-garde of the iconic Damien Hirst (1965).
The medium in which Una works is mostly oil painting, she has also mastered manual graphics techniques as etching, cold needle erasing, and linocut. Experimenting with materials she has also come up with several of her own authorās techniques. Like combination of linocut and painting. Also, special technique for applying layers of paint. But the combination of ink and chalk is Unaās unique discovery, artwork created in such a technique gives a unique visual effect.
Unaās artistic style can be called a modern classic. The accuracy of the academic drawing, the plastic depiction of the human anatomy, the clear and structured composition and the delicate sense of colour are qualities that characterize the painter's work. The genres of painting in which she works mainly are figural compositions, still life, portrait and nude. It is important for Una to say something with her works, but not in a provocative and scandalous way. Let the subtext not be intrusive and compelling, but encourage the viewer to observe, think, go deeper and flow into the process of enjoying art. It is possible that through some artwork the viewer takes something for himself in particular time and place and it doesnāt even really matter whether the message of the painting has a deeper thought or not. The most important thing is the spontaneity that results from the interaction of the viewer, the artist and the painting. One of the favourite motifs are fairy tale and folk tale characters and a literal representation of a proverb. What Una wants to put into her paintings is peace, stability and sense of order.
The artworks are in private collections in Latvia, the USA, Switzerland, Great Britain, Spain, Germany, Austria, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Baltic countries - Lithuania and Estonia, Denmark, South Korea and the collection of the Kherson Art Museum, Ukraine.
Exhibitions:
2011 solo exhibition in cafƩ Taka
2011-2019 Participation in the Big Summer Exhibitions in JÄkabpils organized by the gallery Mansās
2013 solo exhibition at the gallery Monaro
2013 group drawings exhibition in JÅ«rmala Museum
2014 solo exhibition at the gallery Bitvīns in Riga
2017 solo exhibition Chess and Math at the gallery Antonija in Riga
2018 solo exhibition at the gallery Romas DÄrzs in Liepaja
2019 solo exhibition Flying into the Unknown at the gallery Antonija in Riga
2020 solo exhibition at ADB Gjensidige Latvian branch office in Jelgava
Interesting Facts
Una has a good knowledge of Chinese and has been studying it intensively since she was 14. The motif for the painting Flower Girl came from attending the first painting courses in KÄrlis DobrÄjs studio, and became one of the most beloved and popular painting. In 2019 Una was nominated for the Latvian Journalists' Association's Excellence Award in the category New Formats. Una illustrated the court process so called SvÄtes Sect Case, because the court session was closed, journalists with photo and video equipment were not allowed in the courtroom.
* Republishing the information must be agreed with the gallery Art Platz.
