Gita Treice

Attended Riga 11th Secondary School (the present Lycée Français de Riga), the Riga Secondary School of Choreography and the Department of Decoration of Riga Secondary School of Applied Art. She is a graduate of the Latvian Academy of Art, having studied in the Environmental Art and Graphic Design Departments, and the master class of Professor Aleksandrs Dembo. She has obtained a Master’s Degree in Art (1999). She has served on the jury of the book art competition Zelta ābele in 2007 and 2008. Since 1993 she has regularly participated in many group exhibitions (almost 30 altogether) and has held four solo exhibitions. Her images are mainly philosophical, painted in an original technique where texture is emphasised as a means of expression, and she often uses wood as a base for small works of art.

She has illustrated textbooks in mathematics and Latvian language, illustrations for the children’s magazine Zīlīte, a series of drawings for “Radio Fairy-Tales” cassettes etc. Since 1997 she has regularly received acclaim in Baltic States book art competitions (2007) and special recognition for achievement in the field of book design (2004). In 2001 she received the title of Artist of the Year and the award for the most original artistic idea. Altogether, more than twenty of the books created by Treice have won awards. She was included in the White Ravens List of the International Youth Library (Munich) and was nominated for the Annual Prize for Book Publishing 2001 for the collection of folk-song “Christmas is Here” (Ziemassvētki klāt! Compiled by I. Kušnere. R.: Jumava, 2001). She was also nominated for the 2004 Annual Prize for Book Publishing for the book “Year of the Dormouse” (Susura gads. S. Kvaskova. R.: Jumava, 2004). She received the 2003 Annual Prize for Book Publishing for her contribution to book design in that year. In the book art competition Zelta ābele 2008 she received the award for “Achievement of the Year”. The book Ķiparu ļerpatu Čieps by A. Jundze, with her original illustrations (R.: Pētergailis, 2008) was nominated for the Jānis Baltvilks Prize 2009.

When we’re not playing at being adults, we’re children. And that’s why drawing for children is so natural and easy. And it’s all for real. (Gita Treice)