Now in his 80’s, Priede is reflecting upon his pending mortality and reviewing his life through a series of autobiographical narratives about his life discovering and preserving his Latvian identity within Modern Day American Culture through visual expression. While his work can be seen in numerous museums and collections he has always been driven by ideas and expression, not commercial success. As he approaches the end of his life, it is even more important for him to share his work with audiences in meaningful ways that promote connection and civil discourse.
Signifiers of Memory: A Visual Memoir
Mallin Gallery, Kansas City Artists Coalition
August 9th – August 30th / (2019) Opening Reception: August 9th, 6-9 pm
Honorary Reception: August 16th, 6-9/Artist’s talk: 7pm
Kansas City, Latvian-American Artist exhibits an epic visual memoir, spanning more than seven decades of life as a World War II refugee, Master Printer (during the renaissance of graphics in the United States), Professor of Art and Evolutionary Artist.
The provocative visual language of Zigmunds Priede (Zig) has been a lifetime in the making. The solo exhibition in the Mallin Gallery is a memoir of over 25 mixed media ‘Aggregate Time works’, 3 works on loan from private collections and an autobiographical installation of 30-18x24” canvases entitled, Signifiers of Memory, depicting an artist’s lifelong quest for identity, place and meaning as he’s journeyed through the 20th & 21st centuries.
Priede calls these “Aggregate Time works” because they have undergone many changes and evolve over extended periods of time. They are the culmination of his past experiences, and present artistic explorations. He usually begins with a printing process, which is further developed through drawing, painting and collage. In his current work, he uses materials, motifs and imagery of personal symbolic significance, such as childhood drawings his mother carried with her when they fled Latvia during WWII, lithographs he printed in the studio at the University of Minnesota in the 1970’s and his signature iconography to create more expansive narratives relative to the 21st century.
The highlight of the exhibition is the 30-canvas memoir installation, entitled Signifiers of Memories, which connects universally on subjects of war, immigration, family, identity, adversity, aging and resilience. Not all of these works will be available for purchase but are on view to the public in this unique context through August 30th.
Priede's life and series have come full circle. Now complete, most of the works in this collection will be available for purchase. This will be the only gallery showing of them as a series, in the Kansas City-Metro area. He was a member of the Kansas City Artists Coalition in the 1980's when he migrated from the East Coast and is honored to be the last artist featured in the Mallin Gallery at the Kansas City Artists Coalitions' current location.
Please join us for an honorary reception and rare opportunity to hear Priede speak about his memoir and artistic process, Friday, August 16th 6-9pm with an artist talk at 7pm.
Wyandotte Street, the Kansas City Artists Coalition houses four gallery spaces in a unique 6,000 sq.ft space. Its regular gallery hours are Wednesday- Saturday, 11am-5pm.
Misogyny Targeted Landscape
Slice of Studio (detail)