Gunārs Lūsis (born 1950) is a Latvian artist and

graphical designer Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

. Lūsis is notable for creating the design for some of the modern Latvian coins with denominations in

Latvian lats The lats (plural: ''lati'' or ''latu'' (if the number can be divided by 10), ISO 4217 currency code: LVL or 428) was the currency of Latvia from 1922 until 1940 and from 1993 until it was replaced by the euro on 1 January 2014. A two-week tran ...

, and for authoring the logo for the Latvian presidency of the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

Life

Lūsis was born 18 December 1950 in Riga. He graduated 1968 from the Jānis Rozentāls Art High School and 1974 from the

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 ...

, Faculty of Design. He is member of the Artists' Union of Latvia () since 1978. During the

Soviet era The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...

he designed posters and the layout of books. Later he created approximately 70 logos for different institutions and events, like

Latvian National Opera The Latvian National Opera and Ballet (LNOB) is an opera house and opera company at Aspazijas boulevard 3 in Riga. Its repertoire includes performances of opera and ballet presented during the season which lasts from mid-September to the end of Ma ...

Foundation, Song and Dance Festival Riga 800, Cinema Festival Arsenāls, Lido,

Riga Stradiņš University Riga Stradiņš University (RSU) ( lv, Rīgas Stradiņa universitāte, la, Universitas Rigensis Stradina) is a public university located in the city of Riga, Latvia. The Stradiņš (pronounced �stradiɲʃ name in the university's title is owed ...

etc.

Lūsis has, in cooperation with Jānis Strupulis, designed a number of Latvian coins with denominations in Lats dated 1992, the bi-metallic 2 Lats coin dated 1999, variations of the 1 Lats coins dated 1999, 2001, and many others. Lūsis has also been active exhibiting as a painter. He relates himself to artists like

Frank Stella Frank Philip Stella (born May 12, 1936) is an American painter, sculptor and printmaker, noted for his work in the areas of minimalism and post-painterly abstraction. Stella lives and works in New York City. Biography Frank Stella was born in Ma ...

, Antoni Tàpies, Robert Rauschenberg and

Jasper Johns Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker whose work is associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and pop art. He is well known for his depictions of the American flag and other US-related top ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lusis, Gunars 1950 births Living people Artists from Riga Latvian painters Latvian male painters