Ēvī Upeniece (born 22 August 1925) is a Latvian sculptor who works within the portrait genre. She received the Republic of Latvia

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is "Per aspera ad astra", meaning "Thr ...

(2021) for her creative work and professional achievements.

Biography

Ēvī Upeniece was born Ēvī Upeniece on 22 August 1925 in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

to Eduards Upenieks, a Latvian foreman of a veneer factory in

Sarkandaugava Sarkandaugava is a neighbourhood of Riga, Latvia. Origins of the name The name of the neighbourhood derives from that of the Sarkandaugava ('Red Daugava'; german: Rote Düna), a minor arm of the Daugava that formerly separated Pētersala fr ...

, and an Estonian mother, Leida Upeniece (née Oinas). Her husband is sculptor Vladimirs Rapiķis. Upeniece studied at Riga School of Fine Arts (1944-1946) and graduated

Art Academy of Latvia The Art Academy of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Mākslas akadēmija) is an institution of higher education and scientific research in art, located in Riga, Latvia. The neo-Gothic brick building is located on Krišjānis Valdemārs Street, next to t ...

with diploma work ''Portrait of Arturs Frinbergs'' (1952) under the guidance of sculptor Teodors Zaļkalns. Upeniece worked at the combine ''Art'' (1952-1980) and was a teacher of the ceramics group at Riga 45th secondary school (1964-1977). She has been participating in exhibitions since 1953 and is a member of the Artists Union of Latvia since 1957. Her works have been presented at the republican,

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

exhibitions and abroad. In 2021, she was awarded with the

, V Class.

Art

Upeniece works mainly in statuary and decorative sculpture. Her works are characterized by lyricism and an intimate chamber atmosphere. She realized her ideas using bronze, marble, caper forge, porcelain and fireclay. The sculptural forms of the works are generalized, smooth. Their surface is often ground or polished; decoratively expressive textures are sometimes used for contrast. She has created portraits depicting mainly women (''Astrakhan Fisherwoman'', 1960; ''Bust of a Young Woman'', 1963; ''Astrīda Kairiša'', 1975; ''Maija Tabaka'', 1976; '' Ausma Kantāne'', ''

Vija Artmane Vija Artmane (born Alīda Artmane; 21 August 1929 in Kaive, Sēme Parish – 11 October 2008 in Strenči) was a Latvian theatre and cinema actress. Life and career Childhood Vija Artmane was born Alīda Artmane at the time when Latvia was a s ...

'', 1977; ''Olga Lisovska'', 1979; ''

Elza Radziņa Elza Radziņa (1917, Kharkiv, Russian Empire — 2005, Riga, Latvia) was a Soviet Latvian theater and cinema actress, and a master of the spoken word (reader). She received People's Artist of the USSR award in 1976 and the Order of the Three Sta ...

'', 1981).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Upeniece, Evi 1925 births Living people 20th-century sculptors 20th-century Latvian women artists Artists from Riga Latvian people of Estonian descent Latvian women sculptors Latvian sculptors