BMW Art Guide by Independent Collectors

Zuzāns Collection

The largest private collection of Latvian art

Zuzeum exterior view. Photo: Norbert Tukaj
Zuzeum exterior view. Photo: Norbert Tukaj

The largest private collection of Latvian art, with a fast-growing additional area of focus – international contemporary art.

The origins of the collection date back to the 1990s, it is known as the Zuzāns Collection from the year 2017 and represents more than 31,000 items of painting, graphic art, sculpture, decorative arts, and design, today, the Zuzāns Collection is developing at a great rate. With late-19th-century and early-20th-century art, classical modernist art, and Soviet-era art, the collection represents both established artists and movements in the history of Latvian art and lesser-known, nonconformist personalities, whose work may be underrepresented in Latvian public art institutions. A growing collection of contemporary international painting and sculpture marks a new direction in the development of the collection, which includes such authors as Rashid Johnson (1977), Nathaniel Mary Quinn (1977), Emily Mae Smith (1979), Marina Abramović (1946) and others. The idea behind this expansion is to place Latvian art within a wider context and to engage in active dialogue with the international art community through the organization of exhibitions and publications as well as providing loans.

Jānis Zuzāns, the founder of the Zuzāns Collection, has been supporting art for two decades, providing funds for the representation of Latvian art abroad, national participation at the Venice Biennale, art and music festivals, and art publishing. He is also a member of Tate’s Central and Eastern Europe Plus Acquisitions Committee (CEEPAC) and a patron of the Purvītis Prize - awarded every two years for the most outstanding achievement in Latvian professional visual arts. As an art expert, Jānis Zuzāns is a prominent part of the Latvian art scene.

Zuzāns Collection is housed in a former cork factory designed and built in 1910, now – Zuzeum Art Center, opened in 2020. Zuzeum is a new addition to the arts infrastructure of the Baltic Sea region, encouraging regional and national collaboration, providing a unique space for debate as well as offering the opportunity to appreciate the growing Zuzāns Collection through its exhibitions. With 1,100 square meters of dedicated exhibition space spread over two galleries, a sculpture garden, workshop area, cafe, roof terrace, and art shop, as well as programs of guided tours, talks, meditations, films, and DJ nights, Zuzeum invites everyone to feel at home with art.

Jeff Koons. Ballerinas (Wood). 2016. Polychrome painting and gilding on wood. 63.5 x 40.2 x 36.8 cm. Photo: Gvido Kajons
Jeff Koons. Ballerinas (Wood). 2016. Polychrome painting and gilding on wood. 63.5 x 40.2 x 36.8 cm. Photo: Gvido Kajons
Kris Lemsalu. Peace Please. 2022. Ceramics, wood, textiles. 152 x 90 x 90 cm. Photo: Māris Arbidāns
Kris Lemsalu. Peace Please. 2022. Ceramics, wood, textiles. 152 x 90 x 90 cm. Photo: Māris Arbidāns
Portrait of Jānis Zuzāns, the founder of the Zuzāns Collection. Photo: Māris Arbidāns
Portrait of Jānis Zuzāns, the founder of the Zuzāns Collection. Photo: Māris Arbidāns
Oto Skulme. Portrait composition. 1923. Oil on canvas. 138 x 103 cm. Photo: Jānis Pipars
Oto Skulme. Portrait composition. 1923. Oil on canvas. 138 x 103 cm. Photo: Jānis Pipars
Thomas Houseago. Large Walking Figure I (Leeds). 2013. Bronze. Edition of 3+2 AP. 476 x 200 x 274 cm. Photo: Jānis Pipars
Thomas Houseago. Large Walking Figure I (Leeds). 2013. Bronze. Edition of 3+2 AP. 476 x 200 x 274 cm. Photo: Jānis Pipars
Vojtech Kovarik. Zeus in his Throne. 2021. Acrylic on canvas. 200 x 200 cm. Photo: Jānis Pipars
Vojtech Kovarik. Zeus in his Throne. 2021. Acrylic on canvas. 200 x 200 cm. Photo: Jānis Pipars

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