Guntars Sietiņš

Graduated from the Department of Decoration of Riga Secondary School of Applied Art and the Graphic Art Department of the Latvian Academy of Art. He is a recognised master of the mezzotint, Professor of the Latvian Academy of Art and Head of the Graphic Art Department. He is a member of the international graphic art centre Grafikens Hus (Sweden) since 2006. His work has been exhibited since 1986. He has held 14 solo exhibitions in Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Sweden and the USA. His work is in collections in Russia, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. He has won 10 awards in international graphic art exhibitions and competitions: a diploma at the 8th Tallinn Print Triennial (1989), the jury”s award at the 1st International Print Biennial in Maastricht (Netherlands, 1993), a diploma at the 11th Norwegian International Print Biennial in Fredrikstad (1995), a prize at the 10th Tallinn Print Triennial (1995), first prize at the 8th International Print Biennial at Varna (Bulgaria, 1995), the audience prize at the International Exhibition of Miniature Prints in Namur (Belgium, 1998), the jury”s prize at the International Graphic Art Biennial at Aomori (Japan, 2007), first prize at the International Print Triennial at Thessaloniki (Greece, 2008), a prize at the 15th International Print Biennial in Seoul (Korea, 2009) and a prize at the International Print Triennial in Cracow (Poland, 2009).

His work in children’s and youth literature includes illustrations for several books by Jānis Baltvilks: “Little Mergus” (Mergusiņš. R.: MIA-Press, 1997), “The Pike”s Third Summer” (Līdakas trešā vasara. R.: Enigma, 1998) and “Man on Horseback” (Cilvēks zirgā. R.: Zvaigzne ABC, 2004).  G. Sietiņš received the Pastariņš Prize in 1990 for the publication of the story “The Secret Puzzle” by V. Upmale (Slepenais rēbuss. R.: Liesma, 1988). In the early 1990s it was planned that a previously unpublished book by Zenta Ērgle, “Over the Years in the Land of Childhood”, would be published with illustrations by Guntars Sietiņš. Because of the political and economic changes, this never took place. Only in 2010 did the book finally reach the reader: the original concept was revised and enhanced, and new drawings added (Z. Ērgle. Pāri gadiem bērnības zemē. R.: Zelta grauds, 2010).

The illustration is like a document or file still kept in my memory, incorporating in compressed form all the information about the lives of the protagonists in the books I’ve read. (Guntars Sietiņš)